, also known as was renowned for being part of the (along with Inaba Ittetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen) under the Saitō clan

Saito clan

The was a Japanese clan in Mino Province during the Sengoku period in the 16th century. According to records, the Saitō clan descended from the Fujiwara clan...

 during the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 of Feudal Japan. He served as a head retainer under Saitō Dōsan

Saito Dosan

was a daimyo who dramatically rose and also fell from power in Sengoku period Japan. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics.-Life:Originally a wealthy merchant from Yamashiro Province , he entered the service of Nagai Nagahiro of Mino Province , assuming the name Nishimura Kankurô.He...

 after Dōsan overthrew Toki Yorinari

Toki Yorinari

was a son of Toki Masafusa and final ruling head of the Toki clan during the latter years of the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. As daimyo of Mino Province, he had hired Saito Dosan as his retainer in the 1520s, but was overthrown and expelled from the province by Dosan in a coup d'état in 1542...

 (the original ruler of Mino) and became daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 of Mino Province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

. He joined the Oda clan following the death of Saitō Yoshitatsu

Saito Yoshitatsu

was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period. He was the second generation lord of the Saitō clan.-Early life:Yoshiatsu was born in Mino Province in 1527, the eldest son of Saitō Dōsan. Some theorize that Yoshitatsu was in fact the son of Toki Yorinari, the former ruler of Mino...

 in 1561 and fought at Anegawa (1570) and in the battles for the Ishiyama Honganji. He was dismissed from Nobunaga's service following the fall of the Honganji in 1580 and evidently died as a ronin

Ronin

A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....

.