While he was department director of the military order in the Navy just before the Sino-Japanese War, he was strictly on the noncombatant side because he appreciated the military potential of China's North Sea Fleet.
日清戦争直前海軍軍令部長を勤めていたが、清の北洋艦隊の戦力を高く評価し、徹底した非戦派であった。