佐賀の乱
Taketomi was born in Saga as the eldest son of a samurai in the service of the Saga Domain. After the Meiji Restoration, he travelled to Tokyo to study the English language, but soon returned to his native Saga. He participated in the Saga Rebellion of 1874 against the Meiji government. After the failure of the rebellion, he returned to Tokyo and studied at the Daigaku Nankō, and later met Soejima Taneomi who turned his interest to politics. He was one of the founders of the Kyushu Kaishintō in 1882 and the "Hizen Nippō" newspaper. Elected to the Saga Prefectural Assembly in 1883 and became chairman of the assembly in 1885.