Iwakura Mission
His father moved his family to Tokyo in 1874 after participating in the Iwakura Mission. In 1881, he attended the National Industrial Exhibition, which was primarily devoted to the economy, but also included paintings. He was deeply impressed by the Western-style art and decided to become a painter. In pursuit of the goal, he began taking lessons from Fuji Masazō (, 1853–1916), who had studied in Europe.