Sokei was serving Nobunaga ODA, Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI and Ieyasu TOKUGAWA, and was believed to have often had exhibition shogi matches with the go (board game of capturing territory) player Sansa HONINBO (most shogi and go players at that time were able to play both shogi and go, and Sokei and Sansa were said to be equally good in both shogi and go).
宗桂は、織田信長、豊臣秀吉、徳川家康に仕え、囲碁の本因坊算砂と度々将棋を披露した（このころは将棋と囲碁がどちらもできる者がほとんどで、宗桂と算砂は囲碁でも互角らしい）。