Born in Obama, Fukui, the son of a samurai of the Obama Clan. He entered the clan-built school, Junzokan, where he learned kimongaku. He also studied in Kyoto and Edo. At age 26 or 27, he adopted his grandfather's real family name of Umeda. Later he opened his own private school, Konanjuku, in Otsu and became the chief lecturer of Bonanken in Kyoto. He sent a memorandum concerning naval defenses to the clan, but it incurred the displeasure of the lord Tadayoshi Sakai and he was expelled from the clan in 1852. After the arrival of the black ships of Commodore Perry, he became a central figure in sonno joi group (supporters of the doctrine of revering the emperor and expelling the barbarians) and tried to prevent the signing of the United States-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce, gain support for Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi and exclude tairo (chief minister) Naosuke Ii. When the Ansei Purge began, he was captured and died from illness while being examined.