In 1891 at five years of age his father died and he was adopted by the family soke (family head), the House of Viscount KINOSHITA which, as the family heir, required him to move to Tokyo.
明治24年（1891年）5歳の時、利恭の死去により宗家・木下子爵家の養嗣子となり家督を継ぐため上京。