After making so much effort in research and lobbying, Tashiro was disappointed at the reactions of the government, and eventually resigned from his position at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce in 1886.

Yet he did not lose interest in Yaeyama.  He became a researcher at Tokyo Imperial University and started to conduct research in anthropology, botany and industry. In 1887, he conducted his third six-month trip to Yaeyama.  Whereas he had conducted the first two trips for research as a public official in an attempt to make practical proposals, the third field research trip, which focused on history, geography, religion, language and traditions, was more academically oriented (Miki 1980, 106-111; Nagayama 1930, 72).

Tashiro wrote numerous articles on anthropology, botany and geology on the basis of his field research. Although his academic articles look irrelevant to the practical matters that were suggested in his previous reports, in fact he maintained his opinions. He approached Yaeyama from a different perspective, but on the basis of his persistent view that Yaeyama could contribute to the nation building of Japan.