It is not clear under which master he was trained in calligraphy, but he went to China in 804, and upon returning to Kyoto he brought back with him the Seventeen Books of O Gishi (Wang Xizhi) as well as calligraphy textbooks and works of calligraphy by O Kenshi (Wang Xianzhi), O Yo-Jun and Cho Suiryo (Chu Suiliang).
書道における師承は明らかでないが、804年に入唐し、帰朝に当って王羲之の十七帖、王献之、欧陽詢、チョ遂良などの筆跡や法帖類を持ち帰った。