He soon became known there for his harsh training regime, which gained him the nickname of "Nonaka no Ipponsugi" (野中の一本杉, "The Lone Cypress in the Field") and the reputation of being the strongest judoka of his time.

According to some sources, around this time he lost a dojoyaburi match against the leader of the Kashima Shin-ryū jujutsu school, Zenya Kunii, who was reportedly undefeated through his life.

[4] It is also said Toku enlisted in the Japanese military for a time before being discharged by health reasons, not without featuring an incident where he knocked out a stallion for kicking him.

[3] Afterwards, being rejected from teaching in the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai due to the Kodokan's influence, he performed the Shikoku Pilgrimage, where he trained with empoverished martial artists like him.

This time of his life ended in 1917 when Toku was pardoned by Kano and reinstated as a Kodokan teacher, immediately taking Iwazo Hayashi as his pupil.