Born in 695 into a provincial noble family of Kibi Province (present-day Okayama), Kibi no Makibi traveled to Tang China in 717 at age 22 as a student on the ninth Japanese embassy, alongside Abe no Nakamaro and the monk Genbo. Over 17 years he mastered a broad range of learning -- the classics, history, law, military science, and astronomy/calendrical studies. On returning to Japan in 735, his rare command of Confucian and military scholarship won him prominent posts under the Tachibana no Moroe government, including tutor to the crown prince (later Empress Koken). Political rivalry with Fujiwara no Nakamaro, however, led to his demotion to Dazai no Daini (deputy governor-general of Dazaifu) in 751. In 754 he returned to Tang China as deputy envoy and is said to have helped bring the monk Ganjin to Japan. Back in his post as Dazai no Daini, in 756 -- amid rising tensions with Silla -- he began construction of Ito Castle, a Chinese-style mountain fortress in Ito District, Chikuzen Province (present-day Itoshima, Fukuoka). After Makibi left Dazaifu, Saeki no Imaemishi took over the project, completing it in 768. During the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion of 764, Makibi helped plan the strategy that secured victory for the retired Empress Koken's side, and in the aftermath enjoyed an extraordinary rise, becoming Minister of the Right in 766 -- a rare case of a scholar reaching the highest ranks of the court nobility. He died in 775 at the age of 81.

A rare scholar-statesman who combined broad learning gained from two journeys to Tang China with practical administrative skill. Despite being demoted amid court intrigue, he demonstrated real competence at Dazaifu by directing the construction of a defensive fortress, and after returning to the center of power he distinguished himself as a military strategist. His flexibility in bridging scholarship and practical action set him apart.

His extraordinary rise from scholar to Minister of the Right became a byword in later generations for advancement through learning. Though he did not live to see Ito Castle completed, the fortress he began remains an important case study in the history of Dazaifu's defenses and ancient mountain-fortress construction, and its ruins are a designated National Historic Site.