Born in Kyôto in 1793. He started his career as a disciple of the actor Nakayama Sharyû, who gave him the name of Nakayama Monzaburô. He performed in the precincts of temples and shrines all over Kamigata (miyaji shibai). Monzaburô went to Edo in 1812 and became a jitsuaku. He took the name of Arashi Sampachi II in November 1817 at the Miyakoza, playing in the kaomise drama "Muro no Ume Hôgan Biiki". He went back to Ôsaka in 1828, became disciple of the actor Ôtani Tomoemon II and took the name of Arashi Shagan IV. Then, in September 1831, he took the name of Ôtani Tomoemon III in Ôsaka. One month later, in Edo, Ôtani Rakuen took the name of Ôtani Tomoemon IV. The 2 actors played under the same name in 2 different cities (an unique case in Kabuki history). Ôtani Tomoemon III and Ôtani Tomoemon IV were respectively nicknamed "Kamigata no Tomoemon" and "Edo no Tomoemon". Tomoemon appeared on stage for the last time in Kyôto in 1837, playing at the Minamigawa no Shibai in the drama "Taikyôshi".

Ôtani Tomoemon III was a second class jitsuaku and he did not reach the same level of fame as his Edo namesake Ôtani Tomoemon IV, who was of another calibre altogether.