His full Buddhist name was Shinnyoan Zenkai; he lived in Asakusa, Edo; his ancestors were said to be the Fukuhara clan of Takada Domain in Echigo Province; and he was a member of rokuju-rokubu (Buddhist pilgrim carrying 66 copies of the Lotus Sutra to be left at sites across Japan) of the Sotoshu sect.
詳しくは真如庵禅海といい、江戸浅草の住人、祖先は越後高田の福原氏であるといい、もと籍を曹洞宗に置く六十六部であった。