In 1915, he graduated from the English Department of Waseda University and joined the Yomiuri Shimbun in the same year, but later resigned due to his opposition to the editorial of the newspaper's head supporting intervention in Siberia.

In 1938 he was arrested and imprisoned during the Popular Front Incident, but was released on bail the following year.

After World War II, he worked hard to rebuild the Japan PEN Club, serving as its vice-president from 1948.

In 1949, he also served as a member of the newly established National Language Council.

In 1958, he won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for "Fifty Years of Literature.