[1] His many other works include An Outline of Natural Law (Seihō ryaku), a volume published in 1871 which he edited based on Nishi Amane's lecture notes which in turn drew from Dutch economist Simon Vissering.

[2][3] Kanda was born in the Fuwa District of Mino Province, (present-day Gifu Prefecture).

[4][5] In 1855, he started meeting with Katsuragawa Hoshū II and Yanagawa Shunsan to work on the Collected Dutch Words (Oranda jii), a Dutch–Japanese dictionary.

[4] In 1862, he became a scholar at the Tokugawa shogunate's Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books (Bansho Shirabesho), researching western science and technology.

[5] In 1869, he proposed adoption of a Chinese-style civil service examination system which was rejected, although exams were later introduced for professional appointments.