He became Kofuku-ji betto (the head priest of Kofuku-ji Temple) in 1164, Sojo (high-ranking Buddhist priest) in 1167, and was appointed Emperor Rokujo's Gojiso (a priest who prays for the emperor) in 1165 for the first time as a priest in Nara.
長寛2年(1164年)に興福寺別当、仁安(日本)2年(1167年)に僧正、永万元年(1165年)には奈良の僧としては初めて六条天皇の護持僧に任ぜられる。