A member belonging to the Jedi Order accepted Yoda as their Padawan during Yoda's youth, specifically more than eight centuries before the era of the Galactic Empire. At one juncture, Yoda's mentor shared a profound story with him, his apprentice, concerning two Jedi named K'ungfu and Chuang, imparting the wisdom of peaceful living. Although Yoda eventually ascended to become arguably the most esteemed Jedi Grand Master in history, details regarding his Master's identity have been lost to time.
During a mission that occurred on the planet Vagadarr Prime circa 40 BBY, Yoda vowed to disseminate the teachings of his Master and bring an end to the conflict raging between the local human tribes and the giants of living stone. After Yoda became the last remaining Jedi Master, he recounted the tale of K'ungfu and Chuang, a story originally told to him by his Master, to Luke Skywalker as part of the latter's Jedi training on the planet of Dagobah in 3 ABY.
The identity of Yoda's Master was initially referenced, though without a specific name, within the current Star Wars canon in The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?, a book intended for young readers that narrates the events of the 1980 movie Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Adam Gidwitz authored this book, which saw publication in 2015.
Within the Star Wars Legends narrative, N'Kata Del Gormo, a Hysalrian Jedi Master, served as Yoda's Jedi tutor, according to a story told in-universe. Chuck Hamilton, a Star Wars enthusiast, conceived the character for the backstory of his Hysalrian submission in the "Design An Alien" competition featured in the Star Wars Galaxy Magazine. Hamilton's entry received an honorable mention in the magazine's ninth issue, which was released on October 1, 1996. The 2024 novel Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss by Steven Barnes brings back the character N'Kata Del Gormo into current canon, and hints that he may have been an early instructor of Yoda, but stops short of saying that he was his Jedi Master.
According to Star Wars authority Dave Filoni, Frank Oz, the individual who provided both the vocal performance and puppetry for Yoda throughout the Star Wars saga, believed that the character's distinctive, inverted speech pattern was a tribute to his Master.