Introducing Kansho: A New Name for Our Practice

Since our founding, we have offered our programs under the name SanZen. Starting today, those same programs — Executive Session, Instant Clarity, and Tour — move forward under a new name: Kansho.

What the name carries

Kansho is a name that works on several levels at once. In Japanese, the sounds kan and sho appear across a range of words connected to observation, clarity, and illumination — from contemplative seeing to the way light reveals what was already there.

We chose not to anchor it to a single character or a single meaning. The name is intentionally open: it can be read as insight that brings light, or as the act of perceiving clearly from a stable vantage point. Both readings describe what this practice is for.

What does not change: the practice itself. The temples. The instruction. The principle that the ability to see your situation clearly — from outside it, rather than inside it — is something that can be trained, and that Japan’s contemplative tradition has been doing so for over twelve centuries.

What changes

All programs are now offered under the Kansho name:

• Kansho Executive Session — private immersion for leaders and organizations
• Kansho Instant Clarity — a five-minute daily practice for knowledge workers
• Kansho Tour — a guided half-day in Kyoto’s living tradition

The website, materials, and communications will update over the coming weeks. If you have questions, please reach out through our contact page.