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Sensei (先生, Sensei^?) is a Japanese title used to refer to or address teachers, professionals such as lawyers and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other authority figures. It is also used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill: accomplished novelists, musicians, and artists are addressed with the title in this way; for example, Japanese manga fans refer to manga artist Osamu Tezuka as "Tezuka-sensei." Sensei is also one of the common Japanese martial arts titles. Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Tezuka redirects here. ... Japanese martial arts terms are the Japanese titles used to refer to teachers of martial arts such as karate or judo. ...

The Japanese expression sensei shares the same characters as the Chinese word, pronounced xiānshēng in Mandarin. Xiansheng is a courtesy title for a man of respected stature; the English equivalent of xiānshēng is gentleman, or more commonly,– mister. It can also be attached to a man's name to mean "Mr." Prior to the development of the modern vernacular, Xiansheng was used to address teachers of both genders; this has fallen out of usage in Standard Mandarin, though it is retained in some southern Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Hakka where it still has the meaning "teacher" or "doctor". In Japanese, sensei is still used to address people of both genders. It is likely both the current Southern Chinese and Japanese usages are more reflective of its Middle Chinese etymology. Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... For other uses, see Hakka (disambiguation). ... Middle Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 中古漢語; Pinyin: zhōnggÇ” HànyÇ”), or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties (6th century - 10th century). ... Etymologies redirects here. ...

Use in Buddhism

In Sanbo Kyodan related zen schools, sensei is normally used to refer to ordained teachers below the rank of roshi. However, other schools of Japanese Buddhism use the term for any priest regardless of seniority; for example, this title is also used for Jodo Shinshu ministers in the United States, whether they are ethnic Japanese or not. In the Kwan Um School of Zen, according to Zen master Seung Sahn, the title Ji Do Poep Sa Nim is much like the Japanese title "sensei."[1] The Sanbō Kyōdan (Japanese: 三宝教団) is Zen Buddhist sect based in Japan. ... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... Roshi (老師) is a Japanese word, common in Zen Buddhism, meaning old (ro) and teacher (shi). ... Japanese Buddhist priest c. ... Jōdo ShinshÅ« ), also known as Shin Buddhism, was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran Shonin. ... The Kwan Um School of Zen is an umbrella organization for the various Zen centers and groups founded by the Korean Zen master Seung Sahn. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Seung Sahn Soen-sa (1927-2004) was a Korean Zen Buddhist monk, and the 78th patriarch in his lineage of Korean Zen (or Korean Sŏn) Buddhism. ...

Use in martial arts

Sensei is often used to address the teacher in Japanese martial arts classes such as aikido, judo, or karate. For university teachers, see professor. ... Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. ... Classes can refer to: social class scientific classification class (object-oriented programming) a subject in school see also class. ... Aikido ) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. ... This article is about the martial art and sport. ... For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ...

Ōsensei, DaiSensei and WakaSensei

Ōsensei (大先生, Ōsensei^?) is a Japanese title used to distinguish between two teachers (or doctors, etc.) with the same name. The elder or superior one is then called ōsensei, and the other one WakaSensei (若先生, WakaSensei^?). In most cases, ōsensei is the father of waka sensei.

In martial arts and spiritual practice, another use for this term is DaiSensei (大先生, DaiSensei^?), or Master Teacher, such as may be found at a Buddhist Temple. Also pronounced with an 'o' sound is the term Ōsensei (翁先生, Ōsensei^?), for the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. Another famous martial artist, Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin Karate was referred to as ōsensei within his organization, the Kyokushinkai. Aikido ) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. ... Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, December 14, 1883–April 26, 1969) was a famous martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido. ... Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達 ÅŒyama Masutatsu), also known as Mas Oyama was a karate master who founded Kyokushinkai, a major style of full contact karate. ... Kyokushin is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達) who was born under the name Choi Yeong-Eui (최영의). Kyokushinkai is Japanese for the society of the ultimate truth. ... For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ... Kyokushin (極真) or Kyokushinkai (極真会) is a style of Karate founded by Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達) in 1964. ...

Usage with negative connotations

Sensei can also be used with negative connotations. Sometimes enthusiastic supporters and admirers use it fawningly, as when addressing or talking about charismatic business, political, and spiritual leaders. Japanese speakers are particularly sensitive to this usage when it concerns members of an in-group who spontaneously associate or identify sensei with a particular person—many if not most Japanese speakers readily see this usage as indicative of adherents speaking of a charismatic spiritual or cult leader. When talking about such situations, Japanese speakers will sometimes use the term sarcastically to ridicule overblown adulation, and the Japanese media frequently invoke it to highlight the megalomania of those who allow themselves to be addressed in this manner. In speech, a sarcastic sensei is intoned for emphasis, whereas in print it is rendered in katakana, akin to scare quotes or italics in English. In sociology, an ingroup is a social group towards which an individual feels loyalty and respect, usually due to membership in the group. ... For other uses, see Charisma (disambiguation). ... Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. ... This article is about the psychopathological condition. ... Katakana ) is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet. ... Scare quotes are quotation marks used for purposes other than to identify a direct quotation, mostly as a flag to provoke in the reader a negative association for the word enclosed in the quotes. ... In typography, italic type /tælk/ or /atælk/ refers to cursive typefaces based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. ...

Uses in English

Sensei has also come to be used in English outside martial-arts and other similarly cultural contexts. In business and industry, sensei is often used to refer to an outside, third-party expert who coaches or advises on operational and organizational excellence. In particular, James Womack's book Lean Thinking advises companies to seek out a "lean sensei" who can provide expert coaching on how to achieve organizational effectiveness. Lean sensei has since become a common term for describing an expert who can provide advice on operational and organizational strategy. Lean manufacturing is the production of goods using less of everything compared to mass production: less human effort, less manufacturing space, less investment in tools, and less engineering time to develop a new product. ...

See also

• Shishō (disambiguation)
• Grandmaster (martial arts)
• Chinese: sifu
• Malay: pendekar
• Sanskrit: guru

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Sifu (師傅 or 師父; Pinyin: shīfu) is a Chinese term for a master or teacher. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... Pendekar is the highest title bestowed upon practitioners of the Indonesian/Malaysian martial art, silat. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... For other uses, see Guru (disambiguation). ...

External links

• What is a Sensei?
• Criteria for a Sensei?