Tokuyama was born to a medical practitioner on July 27, 1903, in a village in Kanagawa Prefecture's Kōza District, west of Yokohama.

Satō became the first female best selling ryūkōka singer soon after the radio broadcasting began in 1925 and had a contract with Nippon Victor Company.

The humorous lyrics and operetta-like quality of the song earned it wide popularity and made Tokuyama one of Nippon Victor Company's biggest singing stars of the 1930s.

As a singer with classical music background, he did not hesitate to include comic songs Marumarubushi (マルマル節) with Roppa Furukawa.

He also continued his career as a classical singer of opera, lieder, and chansons; making notable appearances in Japanese productions of Carmen and Hansel and Gretel, as well as singing the bass part in performances of Beethoven's Symphony No.