Through a connection via an aunt on his mother's side, he used to visit Minister Kinito TOKUDAIJI as his attending physician, and because Minister Kinito TOKUDAIJI was a pro-Imperialist kuge (court noble), Ryozo began to lean toward Sonno Joi (reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of foreigners).
母方の叔母が仕えていた縁で、主治医として出入りしていた徳大寺公純卿が勤皇派の公卿であったため、その影響をうけ、尊皇攘夷に傾倒していった。