[1][2] A native of the city of Hiroshima, Naito lost both of his parents at a young age, and was sent to be raised by his married elder sister living in Taiwan.

At the time, wrestling was largely neglected as a sport in Japan due to the popularity of Judo, and the inclusion of Naito into the Japanese team was made mostly for political reasons.

Despite injuring his fingers in practice aboard the ship from the United States to France, Naito placed third in the freestyle wrestling competition, securing the bronze medal.

Following this success, Naito decided to return to Japan, where he was invited to hold seminars on western-style wrestling at Waseda University.

However, the seeds planted by Naito did not bear immediate results, and after Japan was soundly defeated in the 1928 Summer Olympics, the sport was again eclipsed in popularity by judo.