In April 1933, he enrolled at the Tokyo Imperial University Division of Asiatic History of the Faculty of Letters, studying under Hiroshi Ikeuchi.
In the 1940s, he taught senior high school and lectured in Asian and Japanese music history.
She was an eminent koto and shamisen player in her own right, and was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, fourth class in 1992.
His book on the musical institutions of the Tang dynasty, Tōdai ongaku no rekishiteki kenkyū: Gakusei-hen 唐代音楽の歴史的研究, was awarded the Japan Academy Prize in 1961.
Although most of his research was historical in nature and dealt with very old music, he also conducted fieldwork in various regions in Japan, China, and other parts of Asia.