Born the second son of a vassal of the shogun Sogoro Tominaga, he moved to the House of Yano.He learned English and became a translation official of gaikoku bugyo (magistrate of foreign affairs). He accompanied a mission to Europe in 1863 and came back to Japan the following year. After the Meiji Restoration, he opened a translation school. By recommendation of Arinori Mori, however, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Foreign Affairs in 1870 and went to the US, becoming the charge d'Affaires ad interim to the United States. After returning to Japan in 1875, he resigned the post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became the first director of Shoho Koshujo (Japan's first commercial college, current Hitotsubashi University) and served as the president of Tokyo Shogyo Gakko (Tokyo Commercial School and Koto Shogyo Gakko (later Hitotsubashi University)) which had succeeded the Shoho Koshujo until 1893. He laid the foundation of commercial education in Japan. He was elected a member of the House of Peers by imperial command in 1904.