Eiji Sawamura Award
Deciding to return to professional baseball at age 30, he made his NPB debut for the Chunichi Dragons in 1964. In 1967 he went 29-12 with a 2.51 ERA and 16 complete games, winning the Eiji Sawamura Award. The next year he led the league in losses with 20, while still compiling a low 3.27 ERA and 9 complete games. In 1969 he returned to form, winning 20 games for the second time.