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{{Short description|Japanese term}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:2007 06 19 Maria Kaczynska 01.jpg|thumb|[[Hansō Sōshitsu|Genshitsu Sen]], 15th {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} of the [[Urasenke]] school]]
{{Nihongo3|{{lit|family foundation}}|家元|'''Iemoto'''}} is a [[Japanese language|Japanese term]] used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional [[Japanese art]]. It is used synonymously with the term {{nihongo||宗家|[[sōke]]}} when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents.
The word {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} is also used to describe a system of familial generations in traditional Japanese arts such as [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]] (including {{transliteration|ja|[[sencha tea ceremony|sencha]]}}), {{transliteration|ja|[[ikebana]]}}, [[Noh]], [[calligraphy]], [[traditional Japanese dance]], [[traditional Japanese music]], the Japanese art of incense appreciation ({{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese incense#Kōdō|kōdō]]}}), and [[Japanese martial arts]]. {{transliteration|ja|[[Shogi]]}} and [[Go (board game)|Go]] once used the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system as well. The {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}, who has inherited the secret traditions of the school from the previous {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}.
==Titles==
An {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} may be addressed by the title {{transliteration|ja|Iemoto}} or {{transliteration|ja|O-Iemoto}}, or by the title {{nihongo||宗匠|Sōshō}} or
{{nihongo||大先生|Ō-sensei}}. In [[English language|English]], {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} is often translated as "Grand Master". The {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}'s main roles are to lead the school and protect its traditions, to be the final authority on matters concerning the school, to issue or approve licenses and certificates and, in some cases, to instruct the most advanced practitioners.
The title of {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} in most cases is hereditary. It is commonly transmitted by direct line, or by adoption. Once the "successor-to-be" is officially recognized, that successor-to-be may appropriate the title of {{nihongo3|"Young Master"|若宗匠|Wakasōshō}}. By tradition, the title of {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} is also passed down along with a hereditary name. In the [[Urasenke]] tradition of tea ceremony, for example, the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} carries the name "Sōshitsu". There can only be one {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} at the head of one school at a time, which sometimes leads to the creation of new "houses" or "lines" by those wishing to be {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} themselves.
==Structure==
Officially recognized teachers of the traditional arts that hold the position of {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} obtain a license to teach from the former {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}, signifying the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}'s trust that the so-licensed person is capable and qualified to faithfully pass on the school's teachings. Students must also acquire licenses or certificates at various stages in their study. Depending on the school, such certificates either give the student permission to study at a particular level or affirm that the student has achieved a given level of mastery. Recipients must pay for these certificates which, at the highest level, may cost several million [[Japanese yen|yen]]. It is also the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} who authorises, selects and bestows ceremonial names for advanced practitioners.
==History==
As far back as the [[Heian period]] (794–1185), there were {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}-like family lines that were responsible for passing down the secret traditions and orthodox teachings of their particular school of art, but the first appearance of the word {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} in extant records dates to the end of the 17th century, where it is used in reference to families entitled to have their sons become priests at great temples. Its use in the sense that it is used today, in the realm of traditional Japanese arts, starts to appear in documents in the middle of the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Genshitsu |first=Sen |title=A Chanoyu Vocabulary: Practical Terms for the Way of Tea |location=Kyoto |publisher=Tankosha |date=2007 |language=ja}}</ref>
The system of {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} is a manifestation of the {{nihongo||家|ie}} or "household" and {{nihongo||同族|dōzoku}} or "extended kin" pattern of relationships in Japanese society.<ref>"Iemoto" entry by [[Francis L. K. Hsu]] in Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan</ref> The concept of the {{Nihongo|"{{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system"|家元制度}} was developed further by the historian Matsunosuke Nishiyama in the post-war period to describe the social structures associated with exclusive family control and networks of instructors, a characteristic of the feudal era whose influence on traditional arts is still felt today.
==Famous families and schools==
===Go===
{{main|Four Go houses}}
There were originally four main schools of [[Go (game)|Go]] players: Hon'inbō, Hayashi, Inoue and Yasui, alongside three minor schools: Sakaguchi, Hattori and Mizutani.
Early in the 17th century, the then best player in Japan, [[Hon'inbō Sansa]], was made head of a newly founded Go academy (the {{Nihongo|[[Hon'inbō school]]|本因坊}}, which developed the level of playing greatly, and introduced the martial arts style system of ranking players. The government discontinued its support for the Go academies in 1868 as a result of the fall of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].
In honour of the Hon'inbō school, whose players consistently dominated the other schools during their history, one of the most prestigious Japanese Go championships is called the "Honinbo" tournament.
==={{transliteration|ja|Ikebana}}===
The three main schools of Japanese flower arrangement, or {{transliteration|ja|[[ikebana]]}}, are [[Ikenobō]], [[Ohara-ryū|Ohara]], and [[Sōgetsu]].
According to the organization {{transliteration|ja|Ikebana}} Network,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kadou.com/hp/ryuuha.htm|title=いけばな 流派 大集合|website=www.kadou.com|access-date=2019-10-04}}</ref> there currently are 138 registered schools of small and large size ({{as of|August 2008|lc=y}}).
===Traditional Japanese dance===
There are about 200 schools of traditional Japanese dance. The five most famous are the Hanayagi-ryū, Fujima-ryū, Wakayagi-ryū, Nishikawa-ryū, and Bandō-ryū.
===Incense appreciation===
The two main schools of {{Nihongo|Incense appreciation|香道|kōdō}} are the Shino-ryū and the Nijō-ryū.
===Tea ===
{{main|Schools of Japanese tea ceremony}}
==Criticism and opposition==
The {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system has been described as rigid, expensive, nepotistic, authoritarian and undemocratic. Some groups have chosen to reject the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system. In the realm of the [[Japanese tea ceremony]], Sensho Tanaka created the {{nihongo||大日本茶道学会|Dai Nihon Chadō Gakkai}} in 1898 to systematize teaching {{transliteration|ja|chadō}} in a more democratic way outside the rigidity of the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system.<ref name="Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai">[http://www.santokuan.or.jp/eng/index.html A Summary of the Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216002357/http://santokuan.or.jp/eng/index.html|date=2009-02-16}} Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai official web site (English)</ref> Hiroaki Kikuoka, a {{transliteration|ja|[[shamisen]]}} player, created a presidential system for his group.<ref name="Metropolis">''Janet Pocorobba,'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20191020024025/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/biginjapanarchive299/266/biginjapaninc.htm "Hiroaki Kikuoka"], Metropolis</ref> {{transliteration|ja|[[Koto (instrument)|Koto]]}} player [[Michiyo Yagi]] has rejected both the {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}} system and the traditional style of her instrument, choosing to strike [[chord (music)|chords]].<ref name="Weekend">[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1406597 Japanese Classical Music], NPR, August 24, 2003</ref>
==See also==
*{{transliteration|ja|[[Dōshu]]}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130826201044/http://www.ohararyu.or.jp/english/index_e.html Ohara {{transliteration|ja|ikebana}} school official site] ([[Wayback Machine]] copy)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100201175455/http://www.sogetsu.or.jp/english/index.html Sōgetsu {{transliteration|ja|ikebana}} school official site] (Wayback Machine copy)
*[http://www.wakayagiryu-souke.jp Wakayagi-ryū Japanese classical dance {{transliteration|ja|iemoto}}'s official site]
*[https://sites.google.com/site/iemototheheartofjapan/ {{transliteration|ja|Iemoto}}: the heart of Japan]
{{Go (game)}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Chadō]]
[[Category:Arts in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]
[[Category:History of Go]]