noun
sect founder; founder of a religious denomination
Refers specifically to the person who established a particular Buddhist sect or, by extension, the founder of any religious school or denomination.
法然は浄土宗の宗祖とされている。
Hōnen is regarded as the founder of the Jōdo sect.
各宗派の宗祖の教えを学ぶ。
Study the teachings of each sect's founder.
Compound of 宗 (しゅう, 'sect, religion') and 祖 (そ, 'ancestor, founder'). The reading is on'yomi for both characters.