He was a son of Munenori YAGYU (Tajima no kami [the governor of Tajima Province]), the first lord of Yagyu Domain in Yamato Province, and he became the first chief priest of Hotoku-ji Temple, the temple of the Yagyu family.
大和国柳生藩初代藩主柳生宗矩（但馬守）の子で、柳生家菩提寺の芳徳寺の第一世住持となった。