Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Samurai Festival in Tokyo takes place from February 22 to 25 and allows attendees to experience Japanese history through samurai culture. The four-day event includes a variety of performances such as sword-fighting displays, armor try-ons and other interactive experiences. Samurai and ninja merchandise is on sale, there are festival-style games, and food and drink are available.

The Festival takes place in Ueno Park, Tokyo’s largest park, and visitors can put on Samurai outfits, hold a Samurai sword, andcut a bamboo shoot with its well-defined edge.

It was in places nearby that epic battles took place, such as Kaneji Temple, where the Shogun’s troops clashed with the Imperial troops who came to retake Edo and which marked the end of the period of the Samurai warriors and the shogunate of the Tokugawa clan.

Among the exhibitors, some claim a direct lineage with samurai. A martial arts practitioner who organizes Iaido sword skill demonstrations says he has a direct lineage with the Genji Minamoto clan who participated in the unification of Japan.

The Gifu Prefecture stand highlights the site of the Battle of Sekigahara, one of the most important battles in Japanese history in which the Tokugawa forces defeated those loyal to the former Shogun TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi. TOKUGAWA Ieyasu won the battle and became shogun, unifying the country and creating a dynasty that lasted for 265 years.

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Samurai era.