Tokugawa Iemochi
In 1856 Sakakibara was appointed as a professor at the , a shogunate-sponsored military academy. He received this post through the auspices of his teacher Otani, who had himself been granted a teaching position there. In this role, Sakakibara was noticed by the "shōgun" Tokugawa Iemochi, who appointed Sakakibara as his bodyguard and fencing instructor. He also married Taka, the daughter of the "shōgun"s personal retainer Iwajiro Mihashi. In order that his headmastery of the Jikishinkage-ryū would not interfere with his duties to the "shōgun", his student Matsuoka Katsunosuke was temporarily placed in charge of the school.