Career

He is said to have appealed directly to the shogun in 1652 when he was serving as a headman of one of the villages in the Sakura Domain. In the appeal he requested the shogun to help ease the peasants" burden of heavy taxes and bad crops. But since direct appeals were illegal in those days, he was arrested.

However, no evidence for the existence of the incident has been foundation

The legend of Sakura Sōgorō has been made into numerous stories and plays (ao a play called "Self-Sacrificing Manitoba Sakura Sogo"). He is enshrined in Sōgo-reidō of Tōshōji temple in Narita city.

He is still admired by many as gimin (martyr, in the non-religious sense). To honour him, he is called Sōgo-sama (the honourable Mr Sogo), which is a higher title than the common Sogo-san (Mr Sogo).

Every year on 2 September (it is said that it is the day before his execution, but other sources say he was executed on the 24th), there are all-night gatherings in memory of Sōgo-sama at the Sōgo Reidō Sanctuary (Tōshōji Temple) in Narita (Chiba prefecture).