Takemitsu Tsubokawa, from the northern island of Hokkaido, was a student of Waseda University when he competed successfully as a cross country skier and in Nordic combined. In 1930, he won the 18 km individual title and the relay. In the following year he took the title at the 1931 All Japan Student Ski Championships with the relay team of the Waseda University. Representing Japan at the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, he performed well, ranking 15th in both the 18 km cross-country and the Nordic combined. Later, Tsubokawa claimed the 1933 national title in the Nordic combined. After graduating from Waseda, he worked for the Hokkaido Government but died due to illness at the early age of 32.