Son of a samurai of Iwate Prefecture. Lawyer. He went to the United States to study in 1875 and graduated from Boston University in 1877. After returning to Japan, he joined the Ministry of Justice and served as the director general of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. He also founded the Igirisu Horitsu Gakko (English Law School)(later Chuo University) in 1885. He was awarded Doctor of Jurisprudence for the first time in Japan in 1888. He was selected as a member of the House of Peers 1891. He became the first president of Chuo University in 1903. In addition, he was registered as the lawyer of the Tokyo District Court in 1893. He was elected twice as the president of the Tokyo Bar Association in 1903 and played a prominent role as a lawyer.