It is said that he was a samurai retainer of Kuroda domain, whose name was originally Kohachi, who, having become a ronin (a masterless samurai), eventually made his way to Edo, where he came to be engaged in teaching the shakuhachi at the fukiawase-dokoro ("fukiawase" refers to a Zen related mode of instruction that is generally one-to-one, and in the case of shakuhachi involves the teacher and student playing a piece together while seated facing each other across sheet music, and "dokoro" simply means "place") of Ichigetsu-ji Temple and Reiho-ji Temple.
初代は俗名を幸八といい黒田藩の藩士であったが浪人となり、江戸へ出て一月寺、鈴法寺の吹合指南役となった。