Son of the noted Confucian scholar, Yabu Tsurudō He studied painting with the apprentice's apprentice of Ike Taiga, Oka Yugaku. Following the death of his teacher, Yabu turned toward study of rangaku (Dutch-style painting) with Ogata Kōan. After the beginning of the Meiji era, he took a commission to paint the interior of the Sumiyoshi family house. He was also commissioned by the city magistrate to fill his home with images of Osaka scenery. By this point, he was one of the representative artists of Osaka.