Scholar of Western studies, founder of a newspaper and magazine company. After studying Chinese studies, he learned Dutch medicine under the tutelage of Ito Keisuke. In 1864 he became a professor at Kaiseijo and later became its president. He had an aptitude for languages so he mastered not only Dutch but also English and French. He translated a lot of books into Japanese and made contributions to the introduction of Western studies. In 1867 he launched the first magazine in Japan, Seiyo Zassi and in 1868 he launched Chugai Shimbun, which was the first newspaper completely made by Japanese staff.