Yanagi Narayoshi

His father was Yanagi Sogoro, a samurai officer of the Tsu domain at Edo.

Narayoshi learned mathematics from Murata Tsunemitsu, and was engaged in survey work around Ise Bay.

In 1855, he was dispatched to Naval Training Center at Nagasaki in 1855, and then took part in the establishment of the Shogunate navy at Edo.

After the Meiji Restoration, he entered the Imperial Navy, and became chief hydrographer when HMS Sylvia approached the Meiji government for joint survey over Japan's coastal lines.

In 1888, after he retired from the Imperial Navy, he became a politician, serving in the House of Peers.