Born around 1582, said to be from Sakai or Settsu. He took holy orders in childhood and became the priest of Takimoto-bo, a temple monk position at Iwashimizu Hachimangu (in Yamashiro Province, present-day Yawata City, Kyoto). While fulfilling religious duties as a Shingon monk, he gained fame in early Edo Kyoto cultural circles as a figure excelling in the three ways of calligraphy, painting, and tea. In calligraphy especially, he was called one of the "Three Brushes of the Kan'ei Era" alongside Konoe Nobutada and Hon'ami Koetsu, establishing the "Daishi-ryu" calligraphic style through his independent research and development of Kobo Daishi's writing. He had tea connections with ex-Emperor Go-Mizunoo and Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, serving as a central figure in the cultural exchanges of his time. In his later years he built a simple hermitage on the Iwashimizu Hachimangu grounds called "Shokado" and devoted himself to tea and art. The way he arranged dishes in a clay vessel divided into four sections at this hermitage is considered the prototype of the "Shokado bento." He died in 1639 at age 58.

Gentle with wide social connections, enjoying cultural exchange across social boundaries. Though a priest, he loved worldly beauty and was a seeker who earnestly engaged with calligraphy, painting, and tea.

He left an immortal name in calligraphy history as one of the "Three Brushes." Shōkadō bentō is known worldwide as a standard of Japanese cuisine, named after his hermitage.