Together with koto player Shinichi Yuize and Tony Scott, he recorded the album Music for Zen Meditation in February 1964.
After forming the widely acclaimed "Shakuhachi Sanbon Kai" trio in 1966 with Reibo Aoki and Katsuya Yokoyama, he electrified the conservative traditional scene by applying his talents to a variety of crossover collaborations.
These have led him to work with such world-renowned musicians as Ravi Shankar, Helen Merrill, Gary Peacock and Karl Berger, and also with flute colleagues Jean-Pierre Rampal and Chris Hinze.
He recorded music for the movie Samurai Reincarnation film and the album Masters of Zen: Shakuhachi & Organ with Wolfgang Mitterer.
Through the 1970s and 1980s until his death he led the shakuhachi world receiving innumerable honors, including Japanese Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Education Ministerial awards for his performances, recordings (numbering in the hundreds) and compositions.