At the age of about nine, he was apprenticed to Shuzo KONDO, who taught the Tennen Rishin-ryu style of martial arts at a dojo in Ichigaya, Edo, and it was here at the Shieikan dojo that he met fellow students Isami KONDO and Toshizo HIJIKATA, who would later be central in the formation of the Shinsengumi.
9歳頃に、江戸市谷に天然理心流の道場を開く近藤周三の内弟子となり、試衛館にて後に新選組結成の中核となる近藤勇、土方歳三らと同門になる。