Born in 1306, head of the Sasaki (Kyogoku) clan and shugo of Omi Province. His given name was Sasaki Takauji (later known by the monastic name Doyo). Skilled in both martial arts and culture from youth, he served under the Rokuhara Tandai in the closing years of the Kamakura Shogunate, then abandoned the Hojo and joined Ashikaga Takauji in 1333. He became one of the leading warrior-governors of the Muromachi shogunate, navigating the Nanbokucho upheaval with considerable skill. He survived the Kannō Disturbance (1350–52)—the fraternal conflict between Takauji and Tadayoshi—by adroitly shifting allegiances. At the same time, he became the iconic embodiment of "basara" culture in the Taiheiki: flamboyant dress, extravagant banquets, and defiant disregard for authority and convention. Accounts from the 1340s describe him staging lavish outdoor parties that outshone the shogun himself. Though also notorious for destructive acts such as burning Myohoin temple, he was a first-rate practitioner of renga, ikebana, and tea ceremony, and was a leading driver of the vibrant Nanbokucho cultural scene. He died in 1373 at age 68.