Inari Inn Gion

Kikunoi is spreading the word worldwide about the allure of Japanese cuisine. Yoshihiro Murata sets his sights on innovation while evangelising Kyoto’s graceful ryotei culture. Occasionally Western ingredients get added to the mix, infusing a contemporary sensibility. Change accumulates in layers here, as a result of shifting personnel: Chef Murata invites trainees from overseas to pass on to them the true nature of Japanese cuisine and Japanese traditions of service. Fixing his gaze on the future of Japanese cooking, Murata cultivates the next generation of chefs.

‘Strive for simplicity, elevated by technique’ is the chef’s credo. Prizing seasonal flavours above all, he visits production areas the length and breadth of Japan. At first glance, the food arrangements and serving-ware appear ordinary, but each detail reveals the meaning of Japanese cuisine and patiently cultivated skill. Experience the graceful culture and hospitality of the tea ceremony, learned at a long-established ryokan, in a counter dining setting.

Flowers are arranged, the ceremonial space is well appointed, serving vessels are carefully chosen. The tea ceremony spirit pervades Gion Maruyama’s graceful service. The Gion location is a ryotei but, in a modern touch, it also features counter seating. The chef has spent many years seeking out delicious flavours. He spells ‘oishii’ (good-tasting) the old-fashioned way, with the characters that mean ‘beautiful’ and ‘taste’, recalling the sensibilities of an older time. ‘Flavour, not seasoning’ is the chef’s credo. Devotion to Kyoto cuisine that reverberates in all senses.

Freewheeling cuisine by a chef with Japanese spirit and Western learning. Gratin of truffles and clams is reminiscent of scallop coquilles served at Western restaurants. Use of serving dishes irrespective of cuisine shows a blending of Western and Japanese styles. Lacquered wooden trays, however, change with each dish, professing a sensitivity to beauty that pervades every aspect of Shimmonzen Yonemura. Supported by a team of young workers, the cuisine of Chef Masayasu Yonemura evolves with each restaurant he opens, from Kiyacho to Yasaka to Shimmonzen.

A sushi restaurant produced by Gion Sasaki . Chefs who honed their skills in Japanese cuisine under their master now stand at the counter. The two types of sushi rice are selected according to the topping, and steamed or grilled dishes are interwoven between the nigiri in a unique touch. Fresh-cooked rice is seasoned with red vinegar; conger eel delights the eyes as it cooks over bamboo grass on an earthen brazier. The chefs work together with well-oiled precision, calculating their moves to deliver each morsel at the moment of peak flavour.

The chef has made himself a master of old-school Japanese cuisine to take it to the next level. While respecting orthodoxy in wanmono and side dishes, he refers to French flameworking techniques for his grilled items and snacks. Masu salmon is served mi-cuit; beef is rested multiple times during grilling. The sukiya-style interior in a remodelled wooden townhouse is appointed with both antique and modern dishware. ‘Ryosho’ means ‘aspire to the heavens,’ and the sky’s the limit for the chef’s ambition and desire to better himself.

The aesthetic of ‘wabi-sabi’, restraint and impermanence, breathes in the walls of this veteran ryotei. The garden of moss-covered stone lanterns and washbasins, channels flowing with clear streams from Lake Biwa and a still, quiet tea arbour all give it a shadowed atmosphere. Hyotei eggs are a tradition handed down through generations from the founder. Eiichi Takahashi changed the dashi from dried bonito to dried tuna; tomato and soy sauce gracing Akashi sea bream sashimi is a permutation courtesy of the current chef, Yoshihiro Takahashi. Over the years, layers of innovation build up to cater