Shokei was the adopted child of Shokei SHIBATA (柴田承慶), who was a doctor in the Owari Domain, and inherited the SHIBATA family property, but rather than become a doctor, he decided on a career as a chemist and pharmacologist.
尾張藩医柴田承慶の養子となり柴田家を継ぐが、承桂は医師を志さず、化学者、薬学者の道を選ぶ。