Shinobu debuted in 1988 with the tape Red Dragonfly: World Music on Guitar, which was released on audio CD in 1992.

Shinobu was born in Kobe, Japan, and began playing the acoustic guitar at the age of 13.

Shinobu began working in Los Angeles, California as a waiter, while trying to establish his career as a musician.

He received his economics degree in Japan and his masters in Music History and Guitar from Northeastern Illinois University.

He married Katherine Larson, an associate professor in the English Language Academy at the DePaul University, in 1983.