Although official history of the Fuke-shû sect starts only with the Edo era, Shakuhachi of this sect and its philosophy would have been introduced from China to Japan in  the 13th century by the grand Hottô Master.

Disciple of Chôsan, 17th descendant of the Fuke sect of China which was created in the 9th century, he returned to Japan in 1254 in order to transmit his teaching. Thus the bases were thrown out of what was going to become one of most admirable contemplative music.

Blowing Zen

The Fuke sect was a branch of the Zen Buddhism just like the Rinzai sect.  

With the coming to power of the Tokugawa Government (birth of the Edo era), the control of the Buddhist monks became a tricky question which was necessary to be solved quickly in order to impose and maintain the order and safety; it should remember that monks of that time did not devote themselves only to the meditation and the study of the precepts.  

Some sects were more feared than respected by people and Government for making reign of terror (in the facts, it was a question for the government to control powerful religious orders who wished to preserve their independence, which is in contradiction with all dictatorial policy).  

During the Edo era, Komusô monks played an important role in the maintenance of law and order established by the Government of Tokugawa aiming to maintain peace and to thwart political intrigues. This stabilized domestic policy enable to preserve a lasting peace during 265 years.  

In exchange of favor done to the government, Komusô were free to pass without obstacle the various points of control around the country, and had many privileges of which among other things the right to carry dagger.

At the end of the shogunat of the Edo era, it comes to appear that a few number of impostors not belonging to the class of Samurai were putting on the dress of Komusô; some to survive thanks to the flute, others to flee and hide (the Komusô wore a hat of reed hiding their face) from the authorities. These pseudo-monks not being familiar with the traditional parts, played of the popular airs having nothing to do with the traditional pieces of which the aim was the meditation. 

Just like it is the case in the majority of the great traditional schools, one can consider that the teaching is transmitted on two levels: the basic teaching given to the members of the sect, and fundamental teaching to some initiated only.

The tradition wants that the heir of a school transmits the secrets of his heritage to one or two disciples so that the teaching does not disappear. These disciples in their turn are  charged to transmit the heritage.

The tradition and teaching of Master to disciple thus continued to be transmitted until nowadays  via some Grand Masters like Miyakawa Nyozan, Kobayashi Shizan, Okazaki Meido, Katsuura Shozan, Takahashi Kûzan, and today Fujiyoshi Etsuzan.

One of the characteristics of the Fuke sect was its assortment. Indeed, the different temples situated in the various provinces of Japan transmitted parts of identical name pieces but  often of different contents. The reasons are simple; In order to preserve the secrets, the pieces were often transmitted only partially to the monks coming from other temples. Moreover, it did not exist until recently of written music sheet, and the memory is sometimes capricious.