He successively served as Gaimu taijo (Senior Secretary of the Foreign Ministry), Envoy Extraordinary to the Qing Dynasty, minister-counselor to the Russian Empire, chairman of Japan's Genroin (Chamber of Elders), a member of Japan's Privy Council, and Imperial Court Councilor; subsequently, he was awarded the rank of count.
外務大丞、清特命全権公使、ロシア帝国公使、元老院(日本)議長、枢密院(日本)、宮中顧問官を歴任し、伯爵に叙された。