Kanamori, born 1922 in Toyama Prefecture, graduated from Teikoku Art School (now Musashino Art University) in 1942. Back in Toyama, he studied with Shiko Munakata, who had evacuated there from the hazards of war-ravaged Tokyo. Kanamori won the Kokuga Award of the Kokuga Association in 1950, and was awarded at the St. James Modern Print Exhibition (New York) of 1958. In 1968, he traveled the USA and Canada, teaching printmaking and exhibiting his works widely.

In 1980, Kanamori received the Award of Honor of his native Toyama. One year later in 1981, a solo exhibition of his works opened in Basel, Switzerland. In 1982, he was invited by the Art Association of Australia to teach printmaking. Since 1986 Kanamori also was teaching printmaking and watercolors once a year in Denpasar, Indonesia. He received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th Class, in 1992.