Although he was adopted by Zenshobo Seijun and became a monk of Mt. Hiei after practicing in Mt. Hiei, he returned to his hometown Miyabe and came to serve Nagamasa AZAI, Sengoku daimyo (Japanese territorial lord in the Sengoku period) in the Omi Province, as his vassal.
善祥坊清潤の養子となり比叡山で修行をした後比叡山の僧となったが、故郷宮部に戻り、近江の戦国大名・浅井長政の家臣として仕えるようになる。