He grew to maturity in Tokyo and Matsue, where his father served as a low-ranking government official. Futabatei studied at the Schsha Academy of Chinese Studies and at a private middle school in Matsue, and the restoration upheavals during his childhood inspired in him a fondness for politics that he labeled his "Restoration patriot's spirit." Stimulated by events such as the public outcry when Japan abandoned its claims to Sakhalin in 1875, he decided that his life's mission was to protect Japan from Russia's southward expansion. In order to achieve that goal he moved to Tokyo in 1878 and applied three times to the army officer training school. Each time, however, he was rejected because of his poor grades and severe nearsightedness, and these rejections prompted him to change his goals and aim for a diplomatic career.
In order to learn about conditions in Russia, Futabatei entered the Russian language department of the Tokyo School of Foreign Languages in 1881.
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