The natural landscapes of the Shinano Highlands provided an endless parade of conventional imagery that Michizō would use in his work; such as birds, clouds, flowers, grasses, mountains, skies, trees, and wind.

Michizō tested out of the fifth year of high school and directly entered college choosing to study science; which required English.

At the university, he won the annual prize for the best project or design by an architectural undergraduate three years in a row and was also asked by five different literary journals to submit works.

Upon graduation, he was hired by Ishimoto Architects; however, he disliked his job where he felt cooped up and creatively hemmed in with no control over his conceptions.

In December 1938 he arrived in Nagasaki exhausted, and admitted himself to a hospital where he began coughing up huge amounts of blood.