He studied rangaku under the famed Ogata Kōan, and immediately after the Meiji Restoration in 1867 was sent to Europe and North America as a student.

In 1877, Hanabusa was sent to Busan to oversee the opening of that port as per the terms of the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 signed the previous year with Joseon dynasty Korea.

While the exact causes and details of the incident remain a topic of controversy, violence did erupt,[3] and Hanabusa and his aides were forced to flee the legation,[4] and were rescued by a British ship, the Flying Fish then in port at Chemulpo.

[5] The Japanese government immediately sent Hanabusa back to Seoul, with his security ensured by four warships, three cargo ships and a battalion of armed soldiers.

[6] In July 1887, Hanabusa returned to Tokyo, where he was made a councilor to the Imperial Household Ministry.