Born in Tokyo in 1941, he began training with his father Tadatoshi Watanabe in 1948. In January 1969, the Shinkage-ryu Hyoho Marobasikai was formed to promote and honour the Shinkage-ryu. He is based in various parts of Japan, as well as in the USA, Russia and Poland. In 1972, he succeeded to the Shinkage-ryu dojo lineage and became the 22nd generation of Shinkage-ryu Hyoho.