Mabuchi Toru was born in 1920 in Tokyo, the son of wood engraver Mabuchi Rokutaro. Although his father had been an aspiring artist in his youth, the financial realities of such a career choice forced him to go into commercial art instead. 

Young Mabuchi often observed his father's woodworking, and as early as grammar school began purchasing carving tools to produce his own prints. Although such "prints" were simple greeting cards distributed to family and friends, Mabuchi was intent on becoming an artist from a young age. After middle school he enrolled in the Tokyo School of Fine Art, taking courses in oil painting, watercolors, decorative and applied arts. As an upperclassman, Mabuchi was permitted to take Hiratsuka Un'ichi’s advanced art classes and display several prints in major exhibitions such as Zokei Hanga Kyokai. 

Upon graduating in 1941, Mabuchi was immediately conscripted (his heavy build and large stature caught military recruiters' attention) and served in the Imperial Army until the end of WWII. Eager to return to his artistic ventures, Mabuchi served as an active member of the Nihon Hanga Kyokai from 1954 to 1960 and joined the Nippankai in 1960. Two years later, Mabuchi's works were displayed in the Tokyo International Print Biennale. In 1982, some two decades later, he decided to rejoin Nihon Hanga Kyokai while also serving as both member and judge for the Kofukai organization. Later, Mabuchi would work as an instructor at Hiroshima University (dates unknown). He passed away in 1994 at the age of seventy-four. 

Mabuchi was inclined to produce much larger, bolder, and more elaborate prints than was typical of sosaku hanga artists. Even more distinctive was his own technique of gluing small, thin wood shavings onto a print board. The resulting "mosaic" effect was likely inspired by his early interest in Byzantine mosaics and Seurat's pointillism. Unwilling to be constrained by traditional techniques, Mabuchi often ran thirty to fifty printing stages for a single print. In terms of print innovation and wood carving techniques, Mabuchi is truly deserving of accreditation and accolades.