HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Samurai Morning Practice Sessions in Kanazawa
Start your morning at a temple learning about kendo, enjoying incense and drumming, and trying a very samurai-like rice porridge breakfast.
Kanazawa City Tourism Association
Experience the spirit of bushido through activities such as kendo practice, smelling fragrant incense, and playing Japanese drums at Joshoji Temple, which was founded in 1589.
Start with monko, or the art of incense, said to have been practiced by samurai warriors as a spiritual discipline before battle, calming their minds through fragrance.
After preparing your spirit by breathing in the fragrant wood wafting from the incense burner, learn the basics of kendo in the precincts of the temple. Receive instruction on how to bow, hold, and swing a shinai (bamboo sword), then practice striking a target with the sword.
Afterwards, participants will get to view the “Hagi and Rabbit” and “Bamboo and Tiger” paintings on the temple’s wooden doors, which are said to have been created by Tawaraya Sotatsu, a painter from the Edo-era (1603-1867), and are usually off-limits to the public.
The taiko drumming experience is performed while chanting the Lotus Sutra. Participants take turns beating the drums as the priest reads the sutra and spend time in prayer. Participants then experience burning incense while the priest reads the names of all participants, praying for their safety and health on their journey.
Finally, enjoy a breakfast of rice porridge, much like a samurai would have in times gone by.
How to get there
From Tokyo Station, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa Station (about 2 hours and 30 minutes). From there, take the Hokuriku Railway bus to the Hirokoji bus stop (approx. 15 minutes). Joshoji Temple is a 5-minute walk away.
5-5-70 Tera-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa-ken
