Businessman. Born in Yonezawa, Yamagata, the son of a samurai of the Yonezawa Clan. After haihan chiken (the abolition of clans and establishment of prefectures), he served in Okitama Prefecture. In 1881, he became an official in Okinawa Prefecture. In 1884, he served in Okurasho(Finance Ministry) but resigned from it in 1886. He returned to Yonezawa, where he established the Ryou Ginko(Ryou Bank) and became its first president, making contributions to local business development. His first son, Shigeaki, was famous as a banker affiliated with Mitsui Zaibatsu(Mitsui financial group).