was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

Rōshi ( Japanese: "old teacher"; "old master") is a title in Zen Buddhism with different usages depending on sect and country. In Rinzai Zen, the term is reserved only for individuals who have received ''inka shōmei'', meaning they have completed ...

, a successor in the

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Budd ...

line of Rinzai Zen, and former president of

Hanazono University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan that belongs to the Rinzai sect (specifically the Myōshin-ji temple complex, which it is next to). The university and the neighborhood are named for Emperor Hanazono, whose donated his palace to make My� ...

, the

university in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, Japan. He became a priest in 1945.

Biography

Ōmori Sōgen was a teacher of

Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū , often referred to simply as Jikishinkage-ryū or Kashima Shinden, is a traditional school ('' koryū'') of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship ('' kenjutsu''). The school was founded in the mid-16th century, based upon older styles of sw ...

swordsmanship,Jiki Shinkage-ryū Kenjutsu with Ōmori Sōgen.
Japan, Nihon Kobudo series, filmed during the 1970s by the Japanese Ministry of Education in a series on many of the traditional koryū. DVD, 2005. and a

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in the Taishi school of

Yamaoka Tesshū , also known as Ono Tetsutarō or Yamaoka Tetsutarō, was a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration. He is also noted as the founder of the '' Itto Shoden Muto-ryu'' school of swordsmanship. ...

. He became well known for his unique approach to

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

practice integrating insights from his martial and fine arts training with traditional Zen methods; this approach has been described as a unity of ''Zen'', ''Ken'' ("sword", referring to martial arts or physical culture), and ''Sho'' ("brush", referring to calligraphy or fine arts). Ōmori founded Seitai-ji monastery in Japan and Daihonzan Chozen-ji in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, the first Rinzai headquarters temple established outside Japan according to Rinzai canon law. Dharma successors and descendants of Omori Roshi are active in both Japan and the West. In the United States, along with Chozen-ji, Daiyuzenji has been established in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and Korinji near

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, there are active groups connected to Sasaki Gensō Rōshi and Hozumi Genshō Rōshi. Ōmori is the author of more than 20 books in the

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...

. Ōmori was also well known for his right-wing ultra-nationalistZen war stories, Daizen Victoria, p85 political activism and influence in government circles prior to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Notable students

* Sasaki Gensō Rōshi *Kadowaki Kakichi Roshi, Author "Zen and the Bible" *Tanouye Tenshin Roshi *Hozumi Gensho Roshi *Hosokawa Dogen Roshi *Shiohira Hideki Sensei

Bibliography

* * *Sogen, Omori; Tanouye Tenshin (1989). ''Zen & Budo''. Daihonzan Chozen-ji / International Zen Dojo Honolulu. .

References

Sources

External links