Born in 1592 as the second son of Kanto administrator (Kanto-gundai) Ina Tadatsugu, he was granted a 7,000-koku fief at Akayama in Musashi Province (present-day Kawaguchi, Saitama) in 1618. Around 1629 he cleared wasteland to build the Akayama jinya (Akayama Castle) as his base. Succeeding his father as Kanto-gundai, he built the Minuma reservoir and Hatcho embankment that same year by damming the Minuma marsh, and rerouted the Arakawa River between present-day Kumagaya and Kawajima, diverting it into the Iruma River course to reduce flood damage. In 1635 he began excavating the Edo River, leading some of the largest flood-control projects in Kanto history. He served as Kanto-gundai from his Akayama base for roughly 35 years until his death in 1653 at age 62. The Ina family continued to govern shogunate territory from Akayama for more than 160 years afterward.

A technocrat of exceptional skill in flood control and irrigation, he built on the practical administrative talents inherited from his father Tadatsugu. He established the distinctive "Kanto-style" water-management method and poured his energy into reclaiming wasteland for new rice paddies.

He is highly regarded as the water engineer who laid the foundations for Edo-area flood control and new-field development. Irrigation networks stemming from his projects still support agriculture in Saitama Prefecture today.