Kanchō (Zen)
Kanchō ( Japanese 管 長 ) is the title for an archabbot of the main monastery of a lineage of Zen -shū. He is the nominal line head and resides in the main temple, which he represents to government agencies and other Zen lines. Because of the reputation he enjoys, he has a certain influence that goes beyond the representative function. The solemn installation of a Kanchō is a particularly festive event for every main temple, to which many high-ranking guests from religion, politics and business are invited.
This position and the Kanchò system were established by the Japanese government in 1872. It went through several changes in the early years of the Meiji government. The system of Buddhist monks was divided into seven main groups. Tendai , Shingon , Jōdo , Zen, Shin, Nichiren and Ji . Each of these organizations is headed by a Kanchō, who is responsible for all affairs of the Seken and their branches. Later some subgroups were also allowed to determine their own Kanchō. These were Rinzai , Sōtō and Ōbaku , which were previously combined under one line. In 1964 the Kanchō were replaced by a Kanshū, which is often viewed as a bishop or archbishop.
The title Kanchō is also used for the head of a martial arts school such as Aikido . Here Shioda Gōzō was titled as Kanchô-Sensei.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helen J. Baroni: Kanchô . In: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism . The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, New York 2002, ISBN 0-8239-2240-5 , pp. 175 ( books.google.de ).
- ↑ Basic techniques and commands. aikido-yoshinkan.info, 2018, accessed May 28, 2020 .