He is commonly known as Shida (志田 in Chinese characters, also written as 志太 and 信太) Saburo Senjo because he had served as Tachiwaki Senjo (the head of the Imperial Prince's bodyguard) in the capital in his youth, and later moved down to Kanto, developed Shida no sho (manor) in Hitachi Province (the present-day Inashiki City, Ibaraki Prefecture), and made it his base.
若年時に都において帯刀先生の職にあり、後年関東に下向し常陸国信太荘（茨城県稲敷市）を開墾し本拠地としたため、通称を志田（志太、信太）三郎先生と呼ばれる。