Born in Tokyo, he majored in violin at the Tokyo Academy of Music (now Tokyo University of the Arts) and its graduate school. Simultaneously, he largely self-studied composition and quickly became a darling of the era through a wide range of creative activities, from avant-garde music to popular songs. Subsequently, from 1934 for three years, he studied abroad in Europe as a student dispatched by the Ministry of Education, studying under Schoenberg, his disciple Wellesz, Krenek, and others. After returning to Japan, while teaching at the Tokyo Academy of Music, he composed numerous wartime songs and other pieces in response to the demands of the times. After the war, he was expelled from his alma mater due to his war responsibility and soon died of cancer at the age of 44. His compositions, influenced by French Impressionism and other styles, and employing traditional Japanese motifs and various modes, stood out remarkably in the musical world of the time, which was dominated by German Romanticism. His piano works also include many captivating pieces such as "Sanmai-e" and "Odori." His students included Akio Yashiro, Yasushi Akutagawa, Ikuma Dan, and Toshiro Mayuzumi.

He entered the Instrumental Music Department of the Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), studied composition independently, and later completed both the Instrumental Music and Composition Departments in the research course, after which he taught at the same school. He traveled to Europe and America as a Ministry of Education scholarship student from 1934 to 1937. Initially, he started with the techniques of German Romanticism, but he was an early adopter of French Impressionistic methods in Japan. Possessing a lyrical melodic sense and a refined style, he stood out as a modernist in the composition world of his time.