As it contains biographies of numerous Zen priests, Keitokudentoroku is commonly referred to as the '1700 Koans' (koan is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening) but, in fact, it includes records of 965 persons.
多くの禅僧の伝記を収録しているため、俗に「1,700人の公案」と呼ばれているが、実際に伝のあるものは965人である。