On the death of his elder brother, he was forced to inherit his father’s business and around this time obtained a large tattoo of a red dragon which covered most of his back and upper arms, and was addressed as “boss” by his fellow steeplejacks.

Vocal in support of ultranationalist causes, he participated in the Hibiya Incendiary Incident in protest of the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905.

He was reelected 12 consecutive times, holding his seat of 38 years until the end of World War II.

[1] He rose to the post of secretary-general of the Kenseikai and was a leader in the movement towards universal suffrage, leading mass rallies in Tokyo.

[1] He was selected to be a member of the House of Peers, but in 1946, under the occupation of Japan, he was purged from public office.