Photographer and painter. Pioneer of professional photographers. Although he aspired to become a painter from the Kano school in Edo, he learned photography from the American consulate interpreter Henry Conrad Joannes Heusken, who came to Japan in 1856, and professional photographer J. Wilson. He opened Japan’s first commercial photo studio in Noge, Yokohama in 1862. Around 1867, he opened a new store in Yokohama Bashamichi named Zengakudo. In addition, he started new businesses such as lithograph printing, a stagecoach from Tokyo to Yokohama, and milk sales. He retired from photography around 1876 and spent his later years painting. He is said to be the “founder of Japanese photogtaphy”, including due to the fact that he trained many people who played major roles in the photography industry.