A title for a master or teacher, especially in traditional arts such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, or haiku. Often used as an honorific term of address.
I became a disciple of a tea ceremony master.
The master's tea-making performance was splendid.
宗 (school, sect) + 匠 (artisan, master). The term originally referred to the head of a school of traditional arts, emphasizing both lineage and skill.