He was born in Kumamoto Domain, Higo Province, and although he kept a delicate distance from the domain clique constituted by the domains of Satsuma and Choshu, he dedicated all of his life to developing and modernizing the regions of Tohoku and Hokkaido and finding out the capable persons from the ordinary people.
肥後国熊本藩出身で薩摩藩・長州藩の藩閥と微妙な距離を保ちながらも、東北地方・北海道地方の開発と近代化、草の根からの人材発掘に生涯を捧げる。