Born in Edo as the second son of Sakai Tadachika, lord of Himeji Castle. From an early age he cultivated Noh, tea and haikai and grew into a cultivated man of the first rank; in painting he studied widely, taking in the Kano, Nanpin and Maruyama schools. In 1797 he took Buddhist orders and adopted the name Hoitsu. From the middle of the Kansei era he came to know the work of Ogata Korin and was captivated by it, learning its decorative language through copying. What distinguishes Hoitsu from Korin is a haikai-like feeling for mood and poetry, and this became the mark of the Edo Rinpa school that began with him.