Son of a mercer Riemon Kawasaki. After working as a trader in Nagasaki, he went to Osaka to sell products brought from Satsuma in Kinki area and made a fortune. He went to Tokyo in 1871. He became the vice-president of Nipponkoku Yubin Jokisen Kaisha in 1873. He inaugurated the postal route between Tokyo and Ryukyu. He established a shipyard in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1878. He established Hyogo Kawasaki Zosensho (Hyogo Kawasaki Dockyard)in Kobe in 1880. As he was granted the state-run Hyogo Shipyard, he integrated them into Kawasaki Shipyard (later Kawasaki Heavy Industries) in 1887. He was selected as a member of the House of Peers in 1890. He was devoted to the launch of the "Kobe Shimbun" as well as the establishment of Kobe Kawasaki Ginko(Kobe Kawasaki Bank). He reorganized the bank into a limited company in 1896 and after serving as advisor, he retired.