From 1938, he lived at various locations in Chiba Prefecture, and although his future initially seemed promising, his isolation from the mainstream art circles meant that he had difficulty in establishing a name.

He was forced to work at numerous odd jobs to stay alive, while attempting to paint on the side.

In 1958, at the age of 50, he decided to relocate to Amami Ōshima, where he found employment at a silk factory, earning just enough for a frugal life.

He continued to paint, using the nature of Amami Ōshima for inspiration, and his output through the 1960s and early 1970s was prolific.

After his death, his life and the style of his works were compared with that of Paul Gauguin on the Japanese national television (NHK)'s Sunday Art Museum program, and in 2001, a memorial art museum was established in his honor near the airport on Amami Ōshima.