Fuke-shū, according to some accounts, is derived from the teachings of the Chinese Zen teacher Linji Yixuan (c. 800–866), known in Japan as Rinzai Gigen. However, the Fuke school counted as its founder one of Linji's contemporaries Pǔhuà (普化), whose name is read as Fuke in Japanese. Puhua was reputedly a multi-talented monk, known for being inventive and at the same time quite strict. The notion of Puhua as founder is also supported by several references in the "Record of Linji", as well as the "Kyotaku Denki". (Although the latter was later confirmed as a fabrication used to further the komusōs' benefits under the Tokugawa shogunate.)