This year, he formed a reading club around "Kinshiroku, a book of Chinese thought" which is a book Sueyasu CHICHIBU of Chichibu-Kuzure (a family feud of Satsuma Domain) used to enjoy reading, with Toshimichi OKUBO (Toshiimichi), Tomomi YOSHII (Tomomi), Masaharu IJICHI (Masaharu) and Shunsai ARIMURA (Nobuyoshi KAIEDA) to advance in the will of AKASAKA and others.
この年、赤山らの遺志を継ぐために、秩父崩れの秩父季保愛読の『近思録』を輪読する会を大久保利通（利通）・吉井友実（友実）・伊地知正治（正治）・有村俊斎（海江田信義）らとつくった（このメンバーが精忠組のもとになった）。