 In 1878 Katayama travelled to Tokyo to apprentice as a printer while he studied at a small preparatory school, the Oka Juku, where he formed a friendship with , nephew of one of the founders of Mitsubishi.Iwasaki's departure for Yale University inspired Katayama to work his way to the United States.Katayama attended Grinnell College, from which he graduated in 1892, proceeding to the Andover Theological Seminary and then to Yale Divinity School.