At the age of 13, he was articled to the Hirata family and became a sailor and porter of the ship of his master, Sajiro HIRATA, and at age 18 became a manager and at age 23 bought up Ihomaru, a ship carrying a load of 500 koku, and as a ship-owner he was in the business of carrying cargoes between Edo and Yokkaichi.
13歳も時・平田家へ奉公・平田佐次郎主人の船の船員・ボーイとなり・18歳で支配人・23歳で500石の伊宝丸を買収船主・江戸四日市間の貨物運搬に従事する。