Born in 1546 as the biological son of Sen no Rikyu (by his first wife Hoshin Myoju). He studied tea under his father from childhood and developed a strict, uncompromising personal style. He is also known for devising a tea room configuration called the "Doan Kakoi," which eliminated unnecessary ornament. When his father Rikyu was ordered to commit suicide in 1591, Doan remained in Sakai and established the Sakai Sen family. While his adopted brother Shoan restored the Sen family in Kyoto with the help of Gamo Ujisato and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Doan continued his activities as a tea practitioner in Sakai. Doan's lineage later died out, and the main Sen line passed to Shoan's descendants. The irony that Rikyu's own biological son did not become the main heir has long evoked sympathy. He died in 1607.

Proud of being Rikyu's biological son, he pursued a distinctive tea style different from Shoan's. Firm and uncompromising by nature.

Though the Sakai Sen family died out, the Doan-style of tea was inherited by some later tea masters. He represents the diversity within Rikyu's tea tradition.