As a junior high school teacher and colleague of Shozo Shimamoto, Sumi watched Shimamoto's activities from the side and wondered if he could do something himself. One day, when he dipped an arithmetic board in ink and slid it across the paper, evenly spaced lines were drawn, creating a mysterious pattern with a sense of speed.
Shimamoto saw this and introduced Sumi to Yoshihara. Sumi became a member of Gutai and began to create works. In addition to abacus, Sumi has been working on various other methods of expression such as vibrators and umbrellas. He was also ahead of his time in the use of sprays and other materials used by graffiti artists.