Bearing the same name, face, and ambition as his descendant in the futuristic world of Captain Harlock, the Tochiro of bygone days is an optical instruments designer working in Germany as part of an exchange program. Assigned to develop a more precise gunsight design, Tochiro's true desire lies in working towards a trip to the moon. Phantom F. Harlock II decides to transport him to Switzerland to continue his research, but along the way his plane "Arcadia" is hit by enemy fire, severing the wire controlling the aileron. Tochiro is forced to use his own body to hold together the two halves of the broken wire in order for the plane to continue its flight, foreshadowing a time when his descendant will also become a functioning part of a craft named "Arcadia."

After reaching Switzerland, Tochiro promises the departing Harlock that his family will always remember the pirate's favor, so long as the Oyama bloodline lasts.