Photo/Illutration Participants enjoy traditional cuisine with an actor playing a feudal lord role on Dec. 5 in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture. (Yoshiaki Konishi)

HIKONE, Shiga Prefecture—The city government here will offer guests a chance to experience the splendor of a samurai-style tea ceremony hosted by a feudal lord in a hidden corner of Hikone Castle.

Participants can enjoy meals with their tea at the site where Ii Naosuke (1815-1860), who served as the “tairo” chief councilor of the Tokugawa Shogunate toward the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), held tea ceremonies.

The “feudal lord’s tea ritual” is scheduled to take place four times in March 2025.

Hikone Castle, a national treasure, houses the Rakurakuen annex used as the residence of Naonaka, the 11th ruler of the Hikone domain, after his retirement. The annex offers a view of the adjacent Genkyuen garden.

Naonaka’s son Naosuke, the 13th ruler of the Hikone domain, was born at Rakurakuen.

In his final years, Naosuke welcomed important retainers and monks from his family temple with tea ceremonies at Rakurakuen.

These gatherings were staged in grand settings inclusive of Genkyuen.

The tourist ceremonies held in March will feature specialties prepared by a luxury restaurant in Hikone, including dishes using carp from nearby Lake Biwako and salted, grilled trout. “Wagashi” sweets will be served, too.

The menu, rooted in traditional “kaiseki” cuisine, is inspired by tea ritual records called “Hikone Mizuyacho.”

On the Rakurakuen grounds, the Goshoin building, dating back to the Edo Period, and Ochayashiki hall, also known as Jishin no Ma (Hall of earthquakes) for its old-style but seismic-resistant design, will primarily be used for the tea parties.

During the planned “bureiko” unrestricted binge, participants can indulge with an actor portraying Naosuke.

Attendees who complete the feudal warrior simulation program in Hikone will be awarded with a scroll-shaped “samurai certificate.”

Chris Glenn, 56, an Australian who lives in Nagoya and serves as tourism ambassador for the Omi region in Shiga Prefecture, is supporting the tea ceremony endeavor.

He expects sightseers from outside Japan to take part en masse.

“People from Europe and the United States are particularly fascinated by samurai culture and history,” Glenn said. “Visitors will have the opportunity to take delight in an authentically immersive samurai experience at the historic facility.”

He added, “This project is special for non-Japanese because it offers a distinctive experience that can never be encountered in their own homelands.”

The Omi Tourism Board, a Hikone-based agency, will organize the tea ceremony event.

Each tea rite will be open to a group of two to five individuals. Costs per person will range from 75,500 yen ($497) to 165,800 yen, including tax.

Apart from this, a Zen meditation session is scheduled to take place five times in March at Goshoin, priced at a tax-inclusive 3,000 yen.

Reservations for both programs can be made on the dedicated Japanese website at (https://visit-omi.com/jp/activities).

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