Businessman. Pioneer of the life insurance business in Japan. He was adopted by a clan doctor and studied Dutch in Edo. In 1868, he entered Keio Gijuku. After his graduation, he served as its head. He became a professor at Daigaku Nanko (later, the University of Tokyo) and served at the Ministry of Education. He was ordered to inspect the state of insurance businesses in the United States. He established Meiji Seimei Hoken Kaisha (later, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company) in 1881.