http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/foru...reply&p=596451

Quote Originally Posted by MasterKiller
Shorinji Kempo was founded by a man named Michiomi Nakano who was a member of the a japanese criminal organization (Black Dragon Society) which began acting in concert with the imperial government at that time. Nakano reputedly acted as an agent providing intelligence to Japanese authorities in manchuria. He claimed he was initiated in the the Giwamonken temple which he eventually became successor naming taking the buddhist name "Doshin So" and refering to his style as Shorinji kempo. His claims were hotly contested and In 1972 he was on the losing end of a law suit by a group of Chinese living in Japan and as a result the japanese court action agreed to refer to his style as "Nippon Shorinji Kempo."

A little research will reveal to you that his "System" is in fact a creative Blend of Kango Zen , Shorinji Kenkokan Karate (Nakano trained under Masayoshi Hisataka for a while) and Hakko ryu Jujutsu (which he studied under Okuyama Ryuho) and both of these unique systems are clearly visable in the training of Nippon Shorinji Kempo.
Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing
MK is right, or at least concurs with what I've heard. Shorinji kempo (aka Nippon-den Seito Shorinji Kempo) is now headed by So Doshin's daughter. In fact, in the early editions of the movie Shaolin Temple, the 'historic pilgrimage' of So Doshin and his daughter to Shaolin is documented in the intro - that scene is deleted from many later editions.
But there are other Shorin and Shorinji schools, mostly found in Okinawa. It's horribly confusing for me, since I don't really specialize in Japanese research, but I'm sure someone has sorted it all out somewhere.

As for Kempo, it is confusing too. It's part of the name of many Karate schools. Beyond Parker's and So Doshin's, there is Uechi Kanei's Kempo Kai (aka ****o ryu, but don't pronounce it *that* way), Kuda Yuichi's Matsumura Kenpo Shorin Ryu, and Nakamura Shigeru & Odo Seikichi's Okinawa Kenpo. Even more confusing is the fact that by using another character, kenpo becomes 'sword method' (ken as in kendo or jian dao in Mandarin).