Born in Ota-juku, Kamo District, Mino Province (present-day Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture). After graduating from Tokyo University's Faculty of Literature, he established the theoretical foundations of modern Japanese literature. In 1885 he published "The Essence of the Novel" (Shosetsu Shinzui), advocating the theory of "realism"—that novels should depict the truth of human inner life with fidelity, not serve as tools for conveying social or moral lessons. This was a declaration of departure from the moralistic "good rewarded, evil punished" literature of the Edo period and became the starting point of modern Japanese literature. In the same period he himself authored the novel "The Character of Today's Students" (1885) as a practical demonstration. He also completed the monumental 40-year project (1884-1928) of translating all 37 of Shakespeare's plays (by the count of the time) into Japanese, making a major contribution to Japanese theatre and literary education. He devoted considerable effort to developing Waseda University's Faculty of Literature and poured passion into nurturing future generations. In 1906 he founded the Literary Arts Society and worked to spread modern drama. He spent his later years in Atami and died in 1935 at 76. His advocacy of "realism" exerted great influence on many successors including Futabatei Shimei, Ozaki Koyo, and Koda Rohan.

Scholarly and theoretical in his thinking. He thought deeply about literature's social role and systematically advocated the innovative idea of realism. He possessed the tenacity and passion to complete the 40-year monumental project of translating Shakespeare.

"The Essence of the Novel" shines brilliantly in literary history as the ideological starting point of modern Japanese literature. The complete Shakespeare translation is still known as the "Shoyo translation" and became the foundation of Shakespeare reception in Japan. His achievements in laying the foundations of literary and theatrical education at Waseda University are immense.