From 1887-1888, Isaac Harbottle attended Gakushūin school with Prince Yoshihito, who later became Emperor Taisho:

"As a youth, Yoshihito attended Gakushūin (also known as the Peers' School). There, in an interesting way, he encountered some of the internationalist atmosphere that became a hallmark of his reign years. A classmate in 1887 and 1888 was Isaac Harbottle (1871-1948), whom King Kalākaua of Hawai'i had chosen to go to Japan for study. Harbottle and his brother, who accompanied him to Japan, were descendants of Hawaiian ali'i (nobility) and were part of Kalākaua's plan to draw knowledge from abroad so as to strengthen his kingdom and profit from the international experience of future Hawaiian leaders (Quigg 1988, 170, 196)." (Japan's Competing Modernities: Issues in Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930. Contributors: Sharon A. Minichiello - editor. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998. Page 5.)