 In 1874, together with Gotō Shōjirō of Tosa and Etō Shinpei and Soejima Taneomi of Hizen, he formed the "Aikoku Kōtō" (Public Party of Patriots), declaring, "We, the thirty millions of people in Japan are all equally endowed with certain definite rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring and possessing property, and obtaining a livelihood and pursuing happiness.These rights are by Nature bestowed upon all men, and, therefore, cannot be taken away by the power of any man.