Viscount , a.k.a. was a Japanese Shishi

Shishi (organization)

Shishi was a term used to describe Japanese political activists of the late Edo period...

, and later, a diplomat.

He attended some battle in 1860s at Chōshū Domain. Especially, in 1865, he was the commander in Kōzan-ji

Kōzan-ji (Shimonoseki)

The is a temple of the Rinzai sect in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.It was established by Kyoan Genjaku in 1327.Kōzan-ji's Butsuden, completed in 1320, is a National Treasure of Japan....

 uprising, as Hirobumi Ito, under Shinsaku Takasugi. He also served at the Second Chōshū expedition

Second Chōshū expedition

The Second Chōshū expedition , also called the Summer War, was a punitive expedition led by the Tokugawa Shogunate against the Chōshū Domain. It followed the First Chōshū expedition of 1864....

, and led the Chōshū Army to win.

In the 1870s served as Japanese Minister to Rome. In 1876 concluded successfully negotiations with Italian sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa

Vincenzo Ragusa

Vincenzo Ragusa was an Italian sculptor who lived in Meiji period Japan from 1876-1882. He introduced European techniques in bronze casting, and new methods of modeling in wood, clay, plaster and wire armatures which exerted a significant role in the development of the modern Japanese sculptural...

 to take a teaching position at the newly opened government sponsored art school in Tokyo. Served as Japanese Consul in London in 1884-1893. In 1894, Kawase became a member of the Privy Council

Privy Council (Japan)

was an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan that operated from 1888 to 1947.-Functions:Modeled in part upon the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, this body advised the throne on matters of grave importance including:...

till his death.