At the age of 17, he was known as one of the `three iron-hearted young brave samurai' of Asakura along with Sanemoto MAGARA (Juro-Saburo) and Nagataka MURAKAMI (Shozo).
17歳で、真柄真基（十郎三郎）、村上長孝（庄蔵）とともに朝倉の「鬼若三勇士」とうたわれたという。