Background
Learned English while still young and was well read in Western literature. A bibliophile, he collected books of Saikaku Ihara, the Yedo period writer. Rohan Koda and Koyo Ozaki, famous novelists in the Meiji Era. were influenced by Saikaku because they were urged by him to study the Yedo-period writer. A competent painter and a student of history, he liked to discuss new ideas and culture with young people. He left a collection of his essays. His daughter, Tsuneko, is an educator.
