Because he had an older brother Tanemoto, he had no right to succession, but in 1694 he was assigned to Nakaoku kosho (a page who works for shogun in his castle) of Tsunayoshi TOKUGAWA, the fifth shogun of the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), and was later promoted to the chief of the bodyguard of the shogun.
兄の稙元がいたため相続権は無く、元禄7年（1694年）に江戸幕府第5代将軍・徳川綱吉の中奥小姓に任じられ、後に小姓組番頭に栄進した。