He is described as a close blood relative of MINAMOTO no Yorimasa in "Heiji monogatari" (the tale of the Heiji), and it is said that he guided MINAMOTO no Yoshitsune (Rushanao) for direction together with Kichiji KANEURI from Oshu (Northern Honshu, the region encompassing Mutsu and Dewa provinces) when Yoshitsune escaped from Mt. Kurama to Togoku (the eastern part of Japan, particularly Kanto region), and that he invited Yoshitsune to his own domain in Shimofusa Province to shelter him for about a year.
『平治物語』に源頼政の近親者として登場し、源義経（遮那王）が鞍馬山を抜け出し東国へと向かう際、奥州の金売吉次と共に同伴しその道案内を務め、さらに義経を下総の自領に迎え入れ一年ほど匿ったとされる。