In 1641, when Dokaku was twelve years old, he became a temple servant at the Chokeizan Ryusen-ji Temple of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism, in Iwaikawa village of Ogachi County (present-day Aza Higashi mura, Iwaikawa, Higashinaruse village).
寛永18年（1641年）、12歳のときに雄勝郡岩井川村（現東成瀬村岩井川字東村）の曹洞宗長渓山龍泉寺の寺僕となった。