He was diagnosed with tuberculosis after he enlisted in the army in 1938. This ended his military career, and he was sent to a veterans' hospital. While convalescing, he looked through some movie magazines, found a sample screenplay, and figured he could write something much better. He wrote his own script, based on his experiences in the hospital, and sent it to Mansaku Itami, a prominent screenwriter. Itami was so impressed that he became a mentor for Hashimoto.