Iemoto 家元
The founder or current head of a school of a traditional Japanese art, and the head family that holds its authority, usually by inheritance, and licenses its teachers.
Iemoto, literally “family foundation”, is the term for the founder or present grand master of a school of a traditional Japanese art, and for the family line that carries its orthodox tradition. Dictionaries list noh, kyōgen, dance, music, incense, tea, flower arrangement and martial arts among the arts organized this way.
The title is usually hereditary, passed by blood or adoption, though Yamakawa’s dictionary notes it can also go to a chosen successor of outstanding skill. Heibonsha’s encyclopedia explains that, as a rule, only the iemoto issues licenses; licensed teachers such as natori teach on the head’s behalf but cannot license others. It names the Sekishū tea school as an exception, where the licensing right itself is passed on. Sources disagree on its origin: Yamakawa’s dictionary traces it to Heian-period court arts such as poetry and gagaku; others date the system from the Muromachi period.