{{Redirect|Betto|the surname|Betto (surname)}} {{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}} {{nihongo|'''''Bettō'''''|別当}} is a term which originally indicated the head of an institution serving temporarily as the head of another one, but which came to mean also the full-time head of some institution.<ref name="IK">Iwanami {{nihongo|Kōjien|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary</ref><ref name="EoS">Encyclopedia of Shinto, Bettō</ref> The Kamakura period samurai Wada Yoshimori, for example, was the first ''bettō'' of the shogunate's Samurai-dokoro.
==Religious use of the term== A ''bettō'' was a monk who performed Buddhist rites at shrines and jingūji (shrines part of a temple) before the ''shinbutsu bunri'', the Meiji period law that forbade the mixing of Shinto and Buddhism.<ref name="EoS"/> A shrine had various ''bettō'', from the ''seibettō'' (head monk) to the ''shūri bettō'' (monk in charge of repairs). Those not associated with religious duties were called ''zoku bettō''. Among the shrines that appointed ''bettō'' are Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, and Hakone Jinja.<ref name="EoS"/> They were particularly common at Hachiman and gongen shrines, and their mandate lasted three or six years.<ref name="EoS"/>
==See also==
* {{ill|Bettoji Temple|ja|別当寺}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== * Encyclopedia of Shinto, [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1147 Bettō], retrieved on October 29, 2008 * Iwanami {{nihongo|Kōjien|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary 5th Edition (2000), CD version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betto}} Category:Japanese historical terms Category:Shinto shrines in Japan