As a shogun he served Nobunaga ODA and Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, and as a master of the tea ceremony he studied under SEN no Rikyu and numbered among the Rikyu Shichitetsu (seven sages of Rikyu).
武将として織田信長・豊臣秀吉に仕え、茶人としては千利休に学び利休七哲の一人に数えられる。