Born into the Kyōgoku branch of the distinguished Sasaki clan of Ōmi (Shiga); his name was Takauji.
Serving the Kamakura shogunate, he took vows together with the regent Hōjō Takatoki, adopting the name Dōyo.
The Taiheiki says he was charged with escorting the exiled Emperor Go-Daigo toward Oki.
When Ashikaga Takauji turned on the shogunate, Dōyo joined him and, as a senior Ashikaga retainer, fought widely and became governor of Ōmi and elsewhere. He was a shrewd commander who changed sides as the times required.
He was known for flamboyant, convention-defying "basara" behavior. When his men broke branches at an imperial temple and a quarrel followed, he burned Myōhō-in and was briefly exiled.
He was a cultivated man versed in renga, tea, incense and flower arrangement; many of his verses were included in the renga anthology Tsukubashū.
The Southern army stormed Kyoto and the shogunal side withdrew. Dōyo left his mansion beautifully adorned, with wine and food laid out. The Taiheiki says Kusunoki Masanori of the Southern Court, moved by the courtesy, left gifts in return and spared the house when he departed.
At Ōharano in Kyoto he held a lavish blossom-viewing party with the trees extravagantly decorated, said to have been staged to upstage the kanrei Shiba Takatsune, his rival.
After driving out the Shiba, he supported Hosokawa Yoriyuki's appointment as kanrei, helping stabilize the shogunate in the young Yoshimitsu's era.
He died in Ōmi, having navigated a turbulent age with skill, a symbol of the free and flamboyant culture of the Northern and Southern Courts era.
Hosokawa YoriyukiNijō YoshimotoEmperor Go-DaigoAshikaga Takauji
Akamatsu Enshin (Norimura)Emperor Go-DaigoKitabatake ChikafusaKusunoki MasashigeKō no MoronaoNitta YoshisadaAshikaga TakaujiAshikaga Tadayoshi
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.