Promotion in priest-rank depends（({{Lang-ja|僧階）|translit=sōkai|label=none}}) depends on school education and the amount of time spendspent in monastery training.<ref name=Antaiji3 group=web /> There are eight ranks:<ref name=Antaiji3 group=web />{{sfn|Bodiford|2008|p=331, note 37}}
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==== Kaikyōshi====
A special title, ''Kaikyōshi''（ (開教使）), was created for foreign practitioners,. whichIt is not being used anymore, buthaving been replaced by the title ''Kokusai Fukyōshi''.<ref group=web name=DenisLahey>[http://sweepingzen.com/myo-denis-lahey-interview Sweeping Zen (2009), ''Myo Denis Lahey Interview'']</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Myo Denis Lahey recalls: "Oh yeah, Dendo Kyoshi — that title has been abolished, actually. You know, there were a number of these designations that were thrown around, some lasting only a few months or a year before being discarded. Basically what the Japanese had was two sets of regulations—one for Japanese trained priests and then another set for Western priests. So, over the last five years or so, they’ve made a great effort to eliminate that split and have only one set of regulations. So, Dendo Kyoshi doesn’t exist anymore. So they probably shouldn’t be using that term anymore—now the term is something like kokusai fukyoshi. I think it means something like missionary teacher, or something like that. That is the designation for foreign trained priests, but within that there are several levels of teaching responsibility within the Sōtō hierarchy. So those of us who have kind of the tentative approval of the Japanese are considered nito kyoshi—which is kind of like a “second string” teacher (laughs). But one should point out that this is a pretty big thing, for the Japanese to even allow that to happen. So anyway, if anyone says to you they are a Dendo Kyoshi I think you should say to them, “Oh, you’ve been abolished.”"<ref group=web name=DenisLahey />}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|"Teacher who disseminates the dharma internationally".<ref group=web name=ZenRiver>[http://www.zenrivertemple.org/dutch.html#Leraren Zen River, ''Tenkei Coppens Roshi'']</ref>}}
==Rinzai==
At [[Myōshin-ji]], two kinds of ranking systems are being used to rank ''sōryo'' ("a member of the educated clergy, a priest, as opposed to a monk"),{{sfn|Borup|2008|p=54}} namely the ''hokai'' (dharma rank) and the ''Tokyū''-class system.{{sfn|Borup|2008|p={{pn|date=May 2020}}}}
