Sanetoki founded Shomyoji in 1258 as his private Buddhist hall and devoted his life to collecting books that formed the Kanazawa Bunko library. A man of deep learning and culture rare among Kamakura warriors, he gathered Chinese classics, Buddhist scriptures, and Japanese literature, creating medieval Japan's greatest intellectual treasure. He died in 1276 at age 53 and was buried on the hill behind the temple he created.