It was written during the Kamakura period in Classical Chinese by the famous Rinzai monk Kokan Shiren (1278–1346) and in total consists of 30 scrolls.
In the introduction to the work, Kokan wrote that he was shamed into writing it after the Chinese monk Yishan Yining expressed his surprise that no such history existed in Japan.
[3] It covers a span of seven hundred years in Japanese Buddhist history and biographies from its introduction into Japan until the late Kamakura period.
The Genkō Shakusho has three divisions: 『国訳一切経』 和漢撰述 (史伝部 第19, 20) [Kokuyaku Issaikyo [Japanese Translation of Entire Buddhist Tripitaka] Works Written in China and Japan (History Section No.
Genkō shakusho, Japan's first comprehensive history of Buddhism : a partial translation, with introduction and notes.