In 1854, he was ordered by the Tokugawa shogunate to take responsibility of the defenses of the Nagasaki area against possible incursions by foreign ships, and was forced to raise and train troops, and build coastal defense fortifications. This greatly strained the already precarious finances of the domain, which could only be resolved by placing the domain into great debt. In 1864, he was ordered to participate in the First Chōshū expedition, and contributed 1000 soldiers to the Tokugawa army. By order of his retired father, he also dispatched troops to Kyoto to assist the Tokugawa forces in keeping public order.