Sōke
Sōke (宗家), pronounced
Sōke is sometimes mistakenly believed to mean "founder of a style" because many modern sōke are the first generation headmasters of their art (shodai sōke), and are thus both sōke and founder. However, the successors to the shodai sōke are also sōke themselves. Sōke are generally considered the ultimate authority within their art, and have final discretion and authority regarding promotions, curriculum, doctrine, and disciplinary actions. A sōke has the authority to issue a
In some schools such as
The widespread use of the term "sōke" is controversial in the martial arts community. Traditionally it was used very rarely in Japan, typically only for very old martial arts, although it has become a somewhat common term for headmasters of schools created in the last few decades that attempt to reconstruct or emulate older styles of martial arts. Some modern western sōke have used the title Sōke-dai (宗家代) as a title for their assistant as the leader of their school. The Japanese character dai used in this context translates as "in place of." Thus, a shihan-dai, sōke-dai, or sōke-dairi means "someone who teaches in temporary place of" the main instructor, for reasons such as the incapacity of the sōke due to injuries or illnesses.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary
- ^ Iwanami's Japanese Kojien dictionary
- ^ Soke: Historical Incarnations of a Title and its Entitlements by William M. Bodiford
- ^ Kashima Shinryu. "Kashima-Shinryu History". Kashima Shinryu website. Retrieved on 2007-7-26
- ^ Martial Arts Terms and Definitions (2) Sensei, Sempai, and Other Terms Used in Training by Wayne Muromoto