Tanabe was born in Toyama City. He majored in English literature at Tokyo Imperial University, specializing in William Wordsworth. He lectured at Toyo University and Hosei University.
He climbed the Japanese Alps and Okuchichibu Mountains. He is the author of the book in 1919, which was republished as in 1930.
Tanabe and his friend Kogure Ritarà Â's (1873âÂÂ1944) accounts of the Okuchichibu Mountains have become influential. There is a monument to them at the foot of the .