He served the Toki clan, whose leader was the overlord of Mino Province, but in 1554, fter the Toki clan was annihilated by Dosan SAITO, he began serving Nobunaga ODA in Owari province (one theory holds that he may have first served Michitoshi NAGAI, a vassal of the Saito clan, before becoming an officer of Nobunaga.
美濃国の守護大名である土岐氏に仕え、斎藤道三により土岐氏が滅ぼされた後の天文(元号)23年（1554年）には尾張で織田信長に仕えた（一説には斎藤氏家臣の長井道利に仕えた後の仕官とも）。