Culinary Arts | KYOTO
Restaurant Kichisen
Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa
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In Kyoto, it is said that the three most sophisticated cuisines in the world are French, Chinese and Japanese; and among these three, Kyoto Cuisine, or Kyo-ryori, is the pinnacle of sophistication, visual beauty and subtlety of taste. Kyo- ryori is not just an experience in the complexities of taste: It is to be experienced by all the senses. With aspects of ikebana (flower arrangement) and sado (tea ceremony), dishes are created with an emphasis on natural beauty and the seasons. Sophistication is achieved by subtlety, restraint and simplicity, not decoration. Aspiring to excellence in Kyo-ryori, Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa pursues the true spirit of Kyoto cuisine. In his serene restaurant, Kichisen, an authentic Kyoto-style kaiseki restaurant featured in the New York Times and frequently visited by guests from abroad, Chef Tanigawa practices the simple, subtle, and sophisticated designs of Kyo-ryori perfection. Because perfection takes time, it is no surprise that Tanigawa acquired a deep appreciation for cooking at the age of nine and was convinced that cooking was his mission in life. Later, he came to Kyoto and studied traditional Japanese cultural arts such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, incense ceremony, calligraphy, Japanese poetry, etc., in order to polish his sensitivity and acquire inspiration for his profession.
In addition to mastering the traditional court-style cuisine (yusoku-ryori; cuisine prepared according to the rules and traditions of the ancient court) and its methods of using cutlery (ikama-ryu), Tanigawa continues to explore new fields of cuisine, such as a special curative diet catered to diabetics. He is also making every effort to promote the essence of real Kyoto-style cuisine, especially to people abroad. Furthermore, by always remembering the spirit of ‘discovering new things by studying the past,’ Tanigawa is cultivating his own style of cooking.
Kyo-ryori is the pinnacle of so- phistication, visual beauty and subtlety of taste, (is) gentle, mild, obedient and frank.
He is also winning competitions: During a July 1999 episode of the popular TV program ‘Ryori-no-tetsujin (the battle of the master chefs)’ Tanigawa defeated Masaharu Morimoto, another master chef in Japanese cuisine. The theme of the contest was ‘conger eel’, and his dexterity in preparing the dish won the admiration of all the judges.
As an inspired master chef of Kyoto cuisine, Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa has dedicated his life to food as an art and a near- spiritual experience. Now a master and a teacher, Tanigawa teaches his students both taste and discipline and creates pure Kyoto cuisine, without the excessive decoration that has been added in recent decades.
As he takes his simplistically beautiful masterpieces to his own restaurant, Tanigawa’s Kichisen, Chef Tanigawa influences patrons to enjoy one of the greatest meals of their lifetimes while reacquainting themselves with authentic Kyoto cuisine. Since Tanigawa’s cuisine is unsurpassed Kyoto Kaiseki that draws on the four genres of Kyoto Cuisine: Yusoku Ryori (court cuisine), Kaiseki Ryori (tea ceremony cuisine), Shojin Ryori (temple food) and Obanzai (household food), influencing patrons to form a kinship to authentic Kyoto cuisine and to excellence in taste sensations becomes as simple a task as the raw simplicity of his food.
Humble Beginnings in Rural Hyogo
Tanigawa grew up in rural Hyogo Prefecture, near Kobe. He lost his father when he was four years old, and this painful experience caused him think deeply about life and become interested in religion.
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