Born in Nishigahara, Tokyo Prefecture, Gosha graduated from high school and served in the Imperial Navy during the Second World War.
His two most critical and popular successes of the period are Goyokin and Hitokiri (also known as Tenchu), both released in 1969 and both considered to be two of the finest examples of the chambara genre.
In The Samurai Film, the first book-length study of the genre in English, film historian Alain Silver devoted an entire chapter to Gosha's work and noted that "Tenchu/Hitokiri may, with some justice, be cited as one of the most accomplished examples of the samurai genre since World War II.
[citation needed] By the early 1980s, Gosha began making period films that featured prostitutes as protagonists that were renowned for their realism, violence, and overt sexuality.
[2] Gosha’s films have influenced directors including Takashi Miike[3] and Yoshiaki Kawajiri.