He graduated from the metal-casting section of the crafts course of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1944. In 1946 he received a first prize at the Pacific Painting Association exhibition, and worked in commercial design while aiming to be a painter. In 1954 he received an honourable mention at the Free Artists Association exhibition and showed there successfully for a time, but then became unaffiliated. He went on making silkscreen prints, and a solo exhibition caught the eye of an American dealer living in Japan; from 1962 to 1964 he held solo exhibitions chiefly in the United States and was highly regarded there. From 1965 he also turned to oil painting, establishing a classical manner in sepia tones.