[1] Making his debut for the Taiyo Whales in 1989 at age 18, he played for the franchise for 13 years.

Tanishige performed well in the 2004 Japan Series (in which the Dragons lost 4-games-to-3 to the Seibu Lions), including hitting his first career grand slam.

[citation needed] With more than 200 career home runs, Tanshige is a member of the Meikyukai hall of fame.

[citation needed] After retiring from playing at the end of the 2015 season, Tanishige became full-time manager of the Dragons.

After a rocky start to the season followed by a lacklustre continuation following the All-Star break, on August 10, 2016, he was relieved from his duties alongside fielding coach Takahiro Saeki.