Born to a Shintō priestly family in Hamamatsu, Tōtōmi. Studied under Kada no Azumamaro and brought Man'yōshū studies to maturity. Idealizing the "manly spirit" (masuraoburi) of antiquity, he transmitted Kokugaku to Tayasu Munetake and Motoori Norinaga. His works include the Kanji-kō and Man'yō-kō.