A Night at the Temple of the Last Calligrapher Abbot
An After-Dark Zen Experience Found Nowhere Else in Japan
Sekikawa Village, Niigata Prefecture
While most temple experiences in Japan unfold in the hush of early morning, this one begins after dark — a deliberate departure from tradition, offered at only one temple in the country. It is a fitting exception, given that the abbot who leads it is himself the last of his kind.
The Last Abbot Who Writes
The 29th abbot of this temple holds a distinction found nowhere else in Japan: he is the last known abbot to actively practice and teach shodo — the art of Buddhist calligraphy — as a living form of religious expression.
His path here was neither short nor easy. After graduating from university, he trained at a temple in Ehime Prefecture before walking the pilgrimage of the 88 temples of Shikoku, a journey undertaken by pilgrims for over a thousand years in pursuit of spiritual awakening. He then completed the rigorous monastic training at Eiheiji, one of the two head temples of the Soto Zen school and among the most demanding training grounds in Japanese Buddhism, before returning to take up the abbotship he holds today.
Since then, he has continued a practice now unique to him alone: using brush and ink to spread Buddhist teaching, transcribing sutras, rendering Zen sayings, and painting Daruma — the round, wide-eyed figure that represents the founder of Zen and, in Japanese tradition, the embodiment of perseverance.
The Experience
Guests gather as evening falls — a rarity in itself, as most temple stays in Japan follow the rhythm of sunrise. The night unfolds across four traditional practices:
Zazen — seated meditation, guided in the abbot's own hall
Shakyo — the hand-copying of sutras, brush to paper, in silence
Okyo — the chanting of sutras, its rhythm filling the temple's inner hall
Shojin ryori — a multi-course vegetarian meal, prepared according to Buddhist dietary tradition
The Shojin ryori itself is a rare pairing of temple discipline and culinary craft: the meal is prepared by the chef of the local ryokan Arakawa-so, an award-winning name in Japanese gastronomy, who brings professional technique to a cuisine traditionally defined by restraint and reverence for ingredients.
At the close of the evening, the jushoku — the temple's head priest — takes up his brush once more, this time for each guest individually.
Rather than presenting a pre-made piece, he writes it there, in front of the guest: One Word , brushed in the moment as a personal keepsake to carry home.
It is not a souvenir so much as a document: a physical trace, made before your eyes, of a tradition that, by the abbot's own account, will not continue past him.
Why It Matters
Set in Sekikawa Village, a quiet corner of Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, this temple offers something that would be remarkable anywhere — and is made more so by its remove from the usual tourist circuit. Night temple stays are themselves uncommon in Japan. A night temple experience built around a Zen master who is, quite literally, the last of his kind — is something else entirely. For travelers and travel partners seeking experiences defined by scarcity and authenticity rather than spectacle, this is among the most singular currently available in the country.
For travel agencies and tour operators interested in offering this experience to clients, inquiries are welcome.
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