Soon after his birth, his family's house in Edo was destroyed in the Ansei Earthquake of 1854, and in the subsequent Meiji Restoration his father lost his employment and privileged status.
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Afterwards, from 1879–1882, he was sent as a military attaché to France, where he was able to complete his education in engineering and artillery at the French Army's École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr.