Zen ExperienceZazen & Shakyo

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You don't need any experience.
You do need to book.

Enmeiji offers two things a visitor can take part in: seated meditation and sutra copying. Both are taught from scratch, both cost 1,000 yen, and both can be booked for a single person. Sessions are led in Japanese, but the instructions are largely physical — how to fold your legs, where to rest your hands, how to breathe — and are demonstrated rather than explained.

ZAZEN Seated meditation SHAKYO Sutra copying
A zazen session in the main hall

ZazenSeated meditation

Straighten the spine, settle the breathing, let the mind stop chasing things. That is the whole instruction, and it is harder than it sounds.

First-timers are not dropped into a long sitting. The session builds in three stages — five minutes, then ten, then fifteen — with the posture corrected in between, and finishes with tea. Most people find the first five minutes the longest.

When
Saturdays, roughly every other week. There is no fixed calendar — the date is agreed with you when you book.
Duration
About 60 minutes, including the introduction and closing tea
Group size
From one person
Fee
1,000 yen per person, paid in cash on the day
What to wear
Loose clothing you can cross your legs in. Skirts are not suitable.
Request a booking
Copying the Heart Sutra with brush and ink

ShakyoSutra copying

You trace the Heart Sutra character by character with a brush. There is no requirement to read Japanese — the text is printed underneath and you follow the strokes. The point is the attention it demands: for as long as the brush is moving, there is no room for anything else.

Finished sheets are offered at the main altar and included in the temple's prayers. You are welcome to leave yours, or to take it home.

When
Any day, by reservation
Group size
From one person
Age
Suitable from around primary-school age. Younger children are welcome too.
With children
Children too small to handle a brush can colour a paper lantern instead, at the same table as their parents.
Fee
1,000 yen per person, paper and brush included
What to bring
Nothing. Everything is provided.
Request a booking

How to bookReservations

1
Send your request by phone or through the contact form. Include the date, the number of people, and which of the two you would like to do.
2
The temple replies with a date and time. Zazen is scheduled around the temple's own calendar rather than run on fixed dates, so please ask before booking travel around it.
3
Arrive about ten minutes early. Pay in cash on the day.

Please cancel by phone if your plans change — a session is prepared for you even if you are the only guest.

Book a session

Bookings are handled by the temple office. Our staff speak Japanese; a short message in simple English is welcome, and a reply may take a day or two.

Call +81-93-531-6177 Contact form

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