At an early age he became a page at the Tōfuku-ji (temple) in Kyōto and, later a lay priest. He served there under the abbot and associated with the leading Zen priests of Kyōto.
He started his tenure as an apprentice at the Tōfuku-ji temple in Kyōto, eventually becoming a lay minister while working alongside the abbot and collaborating with the prominent Zen masters of the city.