Later, he worked as an assistant director with Shimazu, and Shimazu's students such as Heinosuke GOSHO, Shiro TOYODA and Mikio NARUSE and was finally promoted as director to make his actual debut as a director with "Onna koso iewo mamore" (It is women who guard the home)" in 1939, and the next film, "Danryu" (warm current), based on a novel with the same name by Kunio KISHIDA and originally scheduled to be directed by Yasujiro SHIMAZU, which was a popular and fabulous production that was way beyond what was expected from his youth and was selected as seventh place in the ten best films.
以降は島津をはじめ、同じく島津門下生の五所平之助、豊田四郎や成瀬巳喜男の助監督を務めて、ついに監督昇進の命が下り、1939年に『女こそ家を守れ』で本格的に監督デビュー、続いて東宝に移った島津保次郎が撮る予定だった岸田國士原作の『暖流(小説)』を撮り、新人離れした見事な演出でベスト・テン7位に選ばれるなど好評を博した。