He entered the priesthood in Daihi Kongoin Temple on Mt. Koya by ceding the position of the family head to his child Shigetsuna and called himself Saikyu in 1195.
建久6年（1195年）に家督を子の重綱に譲って高野山大悲金剛院に出家し、西入（さいきゅう）と号した。