What the Sōtō school is
The Sōtō school is a branch of Zen Buddhism. According to the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual commentaries, it was founded by Dogen (1200-1253) after he studied Zen in China, and it stresses the value of seated meditation. In 1246 Dogen founded Eiheiji in Fukui, the first Sōtō temple. Keizan (1268-1325) founded Sojiji in 1321 and spread the teaching widely, and Eiheiji and Sojiji are the school's two head temples. After a fire in the Meiji era Sojiji moved to Tsurumi in Yokohama, and its original site in Noto is known as Sojiji Soin.
It stands beside the Rinzai school as one of the main Zen schools and has a great many temples across Japan, many of them village temples rooted in rural communities.
Reading the records
Architecturally, Sōtō main halls often follow the plan of the Zen abbot's hall, typically six rooms in two rows of three with the central front room used for services. The main hall of Toshoji in Yakage, Okayama, is recorded as an elaborately designed Sōtō main hall in the six-room abbot's-hall form, with broad verandas at the front and west side, coved ceilings over the sanctuary and main room, and heavy round columns between them carrying two-step brackets and a cusped frame.
When stating a temple's school, follow the temple's own materials or the record, and note any difference between its present affiliation and that at its founding.
References
- 大本山總持寺祖院｜観光庁 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース
- https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/R4-00533.html
- 洞松寺本堂｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008763
Last verified: 2026.09.26