Nose Yoritsugu served as a bushō during the Azuchi-Momoyama period and hatamoto during the early Edo period.

The Nose clan served the Ashikaga shōgun family for generations.  During the Muromachi period, the Nose were members of the hōkōshū, or the military organ under the direct control of the shōgun and were powerful kokujin, or provincial landowners, in Settsu Province serving the Hosokawa-Keichō family, the military governors of Settsu.  In the Sengoku period, the clan was based at Maruyama Castle in the Nose District of Settsu, also occupying Akutagawayama Castle in Settsu and Imazato Castle in Yamashiro Province.

In the era of Oda Nobunaga, both of Yoritsugu’s older brothers were killed in action.  At the Battle of Yamazaki, Yoritsugu allied with Akechi Mitsuhide and, after fleeing in defeat, lost his landholdings in the Nose District to Shiokawa Nagamitsu.  He acquired a position to serve Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but appeared unable to recover his former landholdings.  After the Subjugation of Kyūshū, Shimazu Yoshihiro received the Nose District to cover the cost of staying in the capital.  After the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, Yoritsugu then approached Tokugawa Ieyasu to be engaged in service to him.

In 1599, when rumors circulated that Ishida Mitsunari was planning to launch an attack against Ieyasu, Yoritsugu’s residence was adjacent to Mitsunari’s residence so he kept Ieyasu informed of developments.  In 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, Yoritsugu supported Ieyasu and, for his contributions, was awarded 3,000 koku in the Nose District and given custody of another 6,800 koku in the same location.  Yoritsugu made efforts for the resuscitation of the Noma Shrine and  construction of the Jiō Castle.  In 1614, at the Winter Campaign of the Siege of Ōsaka, he defended the gateway to Tenma.  The following summer, he was stationed at a camp in the village of Tada.  He then eliminated remnants of the Shiokawa clan to avenge the earlier killing by the Shiokawa of his older brother, Nose Yorimichi.  After the war, his fief was increased by 2,300 koku.  In 1621, he transferred headship of the clan to his lineal heir, Nose Yorishige, and retired.

On1/18 of Kanei 3 (1626), Yoritsugu died in Edo.  Pursuant to his final will, the bakufu allocated his landholdings among his descendants, as follows: 3,000 koku to Yorishige (his first son), 1,500 koku to Yoritaka (his second son), 1,000 koku to Yoriyuki (his third son), 846 koku to Yorinaga (his fourth son), and 300 koku to Yorihira.  Yorishige inherited Jiō Castle which the Nose continued to hold until the eleventh-generation Nose Yoritomi.

Yoritsugu was known for his archery skills and as a smart and courageous bushō.  He allied with Akechi Mitsuhide and, despite losing his landholdings at one time, he discerned the changing times and later recovered them.  Through good governance, he brought prosperity and was called the ancestor who rejuvenated the Nose family.