Statesman, journalist and literary man. Born in Nagasaki. He undertook Dutch studies and English studies in Nagasaki and Edo. In 1859, he started serving for the Tokugawa shogunate. He traveled twice to Europe as a member of the mission sent by the Shogunate. In 1868, he launched the "Koko Shimbun" newspaper and criticized the new government, for which he was placed under arrest. In 1870, he started serving for Ministry of Finance and attended to both Hirobumi Ito's visit to the United States and Iwakura Mission. From 1874 to 1888, he worked as chief editor and president of the newspaper "Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun" and had extensive authority in the press world as a government-affiliated newspaper journalist. Later, he was active in various fields, writing political fiction and Kabuki scripts, and joining the movement for modern theater. In 1904, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives.