(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
Viewers of FX’s recent hit drama Shōgun might have seen some epic on-screen battles and wondered what it’s like to don armor and battle it out with bamboo swords.
At Samurai Trip, a cultural experience company with locations around Japan, visitors are invited to step into kendo, a martial art which means “the way of the sword” and is deeply rooted in bushido (the way of samurai).
Enter the dojo in Naha City, Okinawa for a taste of samurai life and try your hand at the sport which involves discipline, physical and mental focus.
According to the All Japan Kendo Federation, the precursor to the martial art of kendo started sometime in 1711 during the Edo Era (1600 – 1868). It was a peaceful time that arrived after the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568 – 1600), which is depicted in the FX’s Shōgun. Against the backdrop of the pacific era, “kenjutsu (swordsmanship)” evolved from killing techniques to “katsuninken (character-building or education).
Today, kendo offered as a sport in many school physical educations programs around Japan.
If you want to try Kendo, check out Samurai Trip, which offers experiences in Okinawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and more.
(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
Kendo Experience Tour (Samurai Trip)
Fee: 18,000 yen plus tax per person
*To book a tour, there needs to be two or more participants.
*The venue (dojo) of the tour can be different depending on the number of participants. Yamakawa says, there are typically seven to eight participants in Okinawa, whereas his company sometimes hosts 40 to 50 at a time in Tokyo and Osaka. Kids as young as elementary school age can participate with no problem. Samurai Trip’s website notes that the company can host up to 200 participants.
*The fee covers coaching by a professional instructor, rental of kendo armor and equipment, Japanese hand towel, and a bottle of water (if the number of participants is 10 or less).
*The tour runs for about two hours.
*The fee is negotiable if there are more than 10 participants.
Book your experience and browse the locations where it is available online here.
