Takanashi Sumiyori was a bushi during the Sengoku period.

In 1492, Sumiyori was born as the son of Takanashi Masamori who oversaw the years of peak prosperity for the Takanashi clan.  At his coming-of-age ceremony,  based on family custom, he received one of the characters in his name from Ashikaga Yoshizumi (the eleventh shōgun of the Muromachi bakufu), and adopted the name Sumiyori.

In 1513, following the demise of his father, Takanashi Masamori, he succeeded him as head of the clan.

The Takanashi clan had been long-time relatives of the Nagao clan who served as the deputy military governors neighboring Echigo Province.  Soon after the death of Masamori, the confrontation between Nagao Tamekage and Uesugi Sadazane (the military governor of Echigo serving as his puppet) intensified.  While Shimazu Sadatada of the Shimazu clan from Shinano Province along with the Inoue and Suda clans joined on the side of the Uesugi, Sumiyori allied with the Nagao so he was isolated. Further pressured by the Shinano-Murakami clan proceeding northward across the Zenkōji Plain, his power waned.

After suppressing Uesugi Sadazane, Tamekage provided support to restore the power of the Takanashi clan in 1524.  At this time, Sumiyori’s son, Takanashi Masayori, served as head of the clan.