In our last Tokyo post, we kind of breezed through an important part of the final minutes there: becoming samurai. That is because the story is better told as a more complete picture of our training with the two Japanese warriors: the samurai and the ninja.
The Samurai
We arrived at Tokyo Samurai Kembu in the evening, ready to immerse ourselves in a lesson on how to become samurai. We began with the most important part, mitten socks.
Once in proper footwear and a sword belt, our instructor Ryunosuke (Ry-guy for short) trained us on samurai etiquette and basic sword handling skills.
We then donned the (almost) full samurai garb which was both intricate and snug, with the midsection feeling a bit like a corset. After wardrobe, we were trained on the first three attacks as samurai. Side note: he sized us up and gave us men swords because of how strong we are. 💪
We crushed the first three, after which he decided to share with us the rarely-taught-to-tourists, fourth attack, a single horizontal swipe to wipe out multiple enemies.
Though all this sword work was thrilling, it was what came next that was our mutual favorite part. To complete the outfit, we tied a glorified shoestring around our shoulders and back to keep the kimono sleeves out of the way, leaving us free to defend and attack. Ry-guy proceeded to explain to us the art of Kembu, a dance of sorts created by the samurai for storytelling. In Kembu, in addition to the sword, a fan is used. The fan was demonstrated to represent all sorts of environments, actions, and emotions, including horse riding, snow falling, arrow shooting, and being in love. We were taught all of these in addition to the specific ways to open, close, and hold the fan to portray different meanings. Once our lesson on Kembu was complete, he went through a one-minute Kembu play for us. It was strikingly graceful and fluid.
Then, it was our turn. (This video was not a provided part of the package. I made it. Just for you.)
Equally strikingly graceful and fluid.
This whole experience was more than a tourist stop. It was a real cultural immersion complete with lessons on both history and purpose. We felt incredibly special to have been able to participate in such an important part of Japanese history.
P.S. We also got to keep the mitten socks.
The Ninja
Our first real exposure to the ninja was at the Ninja restaurant in Tokyo that we visited on one of our last nights. We experienced trick doors, quiet creeping, surprise shouting, and a magic show. It was pretty touristy, but the food was fantastic and the magic show fun.
But we wanted more. In Sapporo (our brief stop between Tokyo and Osaka) we signed up for a Ninja lesson at Hokkaido Ninja-do.
Here, we donned bare feet, a headband, and a ninja two-piece pants suit.
There wasn’t a lot of history, but we were given confirmation on the differences between ninja and samurai that we were taught at the samurai school: ninjas are assassins and spies (the samurai school also said they’re dirty), while samurai are more like the police of the Shogunate era. We also learned that ninjas were often farmers by day and considered of a lower class than the samurai.
After a lesson on counting and hand positioning, it was time to practice our ninjaing. We learned silent creeping, threw stars and chopsticks, and used a blowgun.
We also learned how to pretend to be a flutist while secretly brandishing a dagger within the instrument. We did puzzles, climbed walls and ropes, and learned sword technic.
We also made a ninja video just for you.
The major differences between samurais and ninjas (from what we can tell from our ignorant western perspective) are as follows:
Ninjas have a shorter, darker sword whose sheath and handle, in addition to the blade, are used as tools/weapons
The ninja outfit is much more nimble, subtle, and dark, and often includes face covering (which we were not given)
Ninjas have a greater variety of weapons, many of which are thrown
Ninjas use more trickery, including secret doors, throwing coins or plant barbs on the ground to distract or detract enemies
If we compare to any roles in American history, we would say the samurai are more like the British Army while the ninjas more like the new American militia
The Final Cut
Both experiences were wonderful, but the sword’s edge goes to the Samurai Kembu for the authenticity and depth of instruction we enjoyed. (Also for the dance we got to do.) Either way, we highly recommend both and if we’re afforded more opportunities to act like badass sword-wielders on our trips, we will snatch them up.
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