While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day Waseda University) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published Kaitō Bōken Kidan: Kaitei Gunkan (海島冒険奇譚 海底軍艦 lit.
The novel reflects the imperialist ambitions of Japan at the time, and foreshadowed the Russo-Japanese War that followed in 1904, driven by much the same motivation.