Before he was in office, merchants in Edo had bought up rice in Osaka for speculation purposes with the consent of the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) and unreasonably raised rice price.
彼の在職以前から大坂において江戸の商人が投機目的で幕府の認可を得た買占め行為を行い米価を不当につり上げていた。