His father was a designer of Nishijin textiles. He graduated from the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts and from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and studied under Kyujin Yamamoto. In 1950 his work was first selected for the Sozo Bijutsu exhibition. Aiming to renew Japanese painting, he drew attention early for his fresh ideas and dynamic drawing. In 1959 he formed the Todoroki-kai with Masaru Ishimoto and Misao Yokoyama. Holding to the formal beauty of tradition — yamato-e and the Rinpa school — while bringing a contemporary sensibility to it, he produced brilliant, decorative works. In 1974 he took part in founding the Sokaikai. In 1997 he was named a Person of Cultural Merit, and in 2003 received the Order of Culture. Professor emeritus of Tokyo University of the Arts.