Born in Chiba Prefecture, he attended Hibiya High School and then the University of Tokyo before joining the Tōei studio in 1959. Working at Tōei's Kyoto studio, he served as an assistant director under such directors as Masahiro Makino, Tadashi Imai, and Tomotaka Tasaka. He made his directorial debut in 1964 Kunoichi ninpō and won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award in 1966 for Yakuza (893) gurentai, the first gendaigeki shot at Tōei's Kyoto studio. He directed such popular film series as Kogarashi Monjirō and Nihon no don, and also worked on television. His 1985 film Seburi monogatari was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival. From 1987 to 2008 he served as a professor of the Osaka University of Arts. He has directed over 60 films in his career.
