Businessman and statesman. Born to a feudal retainer of the Tottori domain, he assumed the position of manager of the industrial sector at Hyogo Prefectural Government in 1877. In 1885, he transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, where he was seconded to Kyodo Unyu Kaisha. When the company merged with Mitsubishi Corporation and became Nippon Yusen Kaisha, he assumed the directorship. He became vice president in 1894. In 1914, he was elected as a member of the Tokyo City Council and in the same year as the city council chairman. He made efforts to develop Tokyo.