Born in Osaka, Japan in 1947.

When he was in high school he became a member of the Hawaiian band and fell

in love with music. Thus, his first musical instrument was not guitar but ukulele.

At 17 he played guitar for the first time. His friend started a folk group

and they played Peter, Paul & Mary songs. Their performances

gave young Isato a great stimulus.

After he graduated from high school he performed with his friends

in several folk groups in imitation of the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul &

Mary, etc. One day he met legendary singer-songwriter Takashi NISHIOKA and

they started the legendary Japanese folk group Five Red Balloons.

In 1969 he left the group because of differences in musical

direction. Since that time, he has performed and recorded>with many

well-known singers while he sought after his own guitar music.

He released 19 albums from 1970 through 2003. He has been active writing

songs and seeking new paths in guitar music.

His first album in Germany was released in 1996, and had many concerts

throughout Europe while organizing concert tours for foreign acoustic

fingerstyle guitarists, such as Peter Finger, Jacques Stotzem, Preston Reed,

Ed Gerhard, Martin Simpson, Tim Sparks, Sandor Szabo, Franco Morone, and Don

Ross.

In 2000, he became acquainted with Huang Chia-Wei who is not only a producer

but a well-known guitarist in Taiwan. He had many concerts which were

organized by Chia-Wei with the university students, in order to aim at

exchange of the guitar music in the same Asian bloc. At the same time,

Isato's CDs and tab/music books are issued in Taiwan and many students

all over Taiwan are influenced by his guitar music.

In spring 2003, tab/music book for his album "Solar Wind" was published in

Taiwan. In May, his concerts were held in several countries in Europe such

as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy.

In summer 2004, Isato invited Muriel Anderson from the U.S.A. and did a

concert tour of 7 different venues all over Japan with her.