Born on April 7, 1894 (Meiji 27) in Kobe, Hyogo. About 200 days after birth he contracted an eye disease and was completely blind by age 7. At 8 he became a pupil of Nakajima Kengyo II in Kobe, learning koto, and at 11 attained full certification. At 13 (1907) he moved with his family's business to Incheon in Korea; at 16 he set up independently as a koto master, and at 17 composed 'Mizu no Hentai,' showing his talent as a composer. At 22 he became 'Daikengyo,' the highest rank. At 23 (1917) he went up to Tokyo and began composition and performance activities in earnest. In 1920, with Motoori Nagayo and shakuhachi player Yoshida Seifu, he launched the 'New Japanese Music' movement, an innovative movement introducing Western musical elements into traditional Japanese music. In 1929 (Showa 4) he composed the koto-and-shakuhachi duet 'Haru no Umi' (Spring Sea), which became the most famous work of Japanese traditional music; in 1932 the French violinist Renée Chemet arranged it and performed it in Paris, making it world-renowned. He served as professor of Japanese music at the Tokyo Music School (today Tokyo University of the Arts), training younger generations. As an essayist he also left many writings such as 'Ame no Nenbutsu' and 'Kakidonari.' On June 25, 1956, he fell from an overnight train on the Tokaido Line on the way to a concert tour and died near Kariya Station at age 62. Whether it was an accident or a suicide remains unknown to this day.