He entered Shinpachi SEKI's private school, and in the following year (1872) after Otsukotsu and Seki were hired by the Ministry of Finance translation bureau - an office conceived by Minister of Finance vice secretary Kaoru INOUE and Eiichi SHIBUSAWA for training talented individuals - Ukichi and Shimada applied and were accepted there as first class students.
尺振八の私立共立学舎に入学し、翌明治5年（1872年）に大蔵大輔井上馨と渋沢栄一が人材育成機関として構想した大蔵省翻訳局が発足し、乙骨や尺が登用されると島田とともに応募し上等生徒となる。