Kudō was born in Itayanagi, Kitatsugaru, Aomori as the third son of the wealthy farmer Bun'emon Obata.

Feeling that a Chinese name would be more appropriate for work in China, Tetsusaburō Kudō consulted with the Manchurian emperor Puyi and received the name Chū (忠).

In 1942, he held secret meetings with Fumimaro Konoe and others in the upper levels of the Japanese government who hoped to bring a quick end to the Second Sino-Japanese War and an armistice with Kuomintang.

As a high level military officer and imperial official, Kudō always accompanied Puyi and offered advice.

However, the emperor highly trusted Kudō, and in his memoirs "The First Half of My Life" (我的前半生) wrote: "He would always speak at my side.