VOL. 103 NOVEMber 2016

THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE 6 12 An Introduction to Japanese Meet You at Andy’s! Cuisine One of Tokyo’s favorite watering holes An interview with Yoshiki Tsuji, president of culinary school operator the Tsujicho Group 8 Starting with Stock The first building block of Japanese cuisine

14 Open Orchards

Features Markets across Asia are biting in to the apples of Aomori Prefecture

10 Edo Banqueting Reborn A taste of the fine dining of Edo times at Tezen Museum in Shimane Prefecture

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PRIME MINISTER’S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY HOME AWAY FROM HOME DIARY Fresh Fish for Faraway Places Fancy a Ramen? Also

COPYRIGHT © 2016 CABINET OFFICE OF JAPAN WHERE TO FIND US The views expressed in this magazine by the interviewees Tokyo Narita Airport terminals 1 & 2 ● JR East Travel Service Center (Tokyo Narita Airport) ● JR Tokyo and contributors do not necessarily represent the views of Station Tourist Information Center ● Tokyo Tourist Information Center (Haneda Airport, Tokyo Metropolitan the Cabinet Office or the Government of Japan. No article Government Building, Keisei Ueno Station) ● Niigata Airport ● Chubu Centrair International Airport Tourist or any part thereof may be reproduced without the express Information & Service ● Kansai Tourist Information Center (Kansai Int'l Airport) ● Fukuoka Airport Tourist permission of the Cabinet Office. Copyright inquiries Information ● Foreign Press Center/Japan ● Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan ● Delegation of the should be made through a form available at: European Union to Japan ● Tokyo University ● Waseda University ● Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University● Ritsumeikan University ● Kokushikan University ● University of Tsukuba ● Keio University ● Meiji University www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/mailform/inquiry.html ● Osaka University ● Kyushu University ● Kyoto University ● Tohoku University ● Nagoya University ● Sophia University ● Doshisha University ● Akita International University ● International University of Japan

2 | highlighting japan ISSUE 103, NOVEMBER 2016

Theme for novemBER: THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

16 nscribed in 2013 on UNESCO’s Everyone’s Cup of Tea Representative List of the A day out at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms Intangible Cultural Heritage of IHumanity, Washoku is defined as “a social practice based on a set of skills, knowledge, practice and traditions related 20 to the production, processing, A Cut Above The fine art of Japanese kitchen knife preparation and consumption manufacturing of food. It is associated with an essential spirit of respect for nature that is closely related to the sustainable use of natural 18 resources.” In this month’s Have a Break Feature Story, we look at some Have a bowl of kaki-pi of the many elements informing this definition.

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INNOVATIVE ARTISTS TRADITIONAL CRAFTS JAPAN HERITAGE Wine Redefined The Ultimate Chopsticks The Pursuit of Porcelain

PRODUCTION The Japan Journal ON THE COVER MANAGING EDITOR Osamu Sawaji The World of Japanese Cuisine EDITOR Alex Hendy Photo: Masatoshi Sakamoto Aomori (p. 14) EDITORIAL SUPPORT Jun Ashida, Hitoshi Chiba, Eriko Kiura CONTRIBUTORS Rob Gilhooly, Toshio Matsubara, Kyoko Motoyoshi, Fukui (p. 28) Kyoto (p. 16) Takashi Sasaki, Kumiko Sato, Akira Umezawa, Miho Yanagisawa Tokyo (p. 12) DESIGN Hirofumi Okadome Shimane (p. 10) PHOTOS Tadashi Aizawa, Rob Gilhooly, Yoshifusa Hashizume, Saga/Nagasaki (p. 30) Yuichi Itabashi, Masatoshi Sakamoto, Satoshi Tanaka VIDEOGRAPHY Satoshi Tanaka

november 2016 | 3 Prime Minister's Diary

JAPAN-PHILIPPINES SUMMIT MEETING

n October 26, Prime Min- itime security, measures against ister Shinzo Abe held a terrorism, Mindanao Peace, and OJapan-Philippines Sum- nation-building based on long- mit Meeting with H.E. Mr. Rodrigo term development plans. R. Duterte, President of the President Duterte stated that Republic of the Philippines. he has served as the mayor of Prime Minister Abe com- Davao for 22 years and during mented that Japan is very focused that time JICA completed various on the Philippines, that Japan projects such as an airport, and he has pushed forward the develop- then expressed his appreciation Prime Minister Abe greets President Duterte, ment of the Philippines for many for Japan’s support. 26 October 2016. years up to now through the Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan International Cooperation Japan has consistently supported scheduled to serve as the ASEAN Agency (JICA) and so on, and that the strengthening of the ASEAN presidency holder next year, that Japan will continue to provide the community as an equal strategic Japan is sincerely hoping for the utmost support regarding matters partner, that Japan strongly sup- Philippines’ success, and that upon which President Duterte is ports the centrality and integrity Japan intends to give the utmost particularly focused, such as mar- of ASEAN, that the Philippines is support to the Philippines.

JAPAN-JORDAN SUMMIT MEETING

n October 27, Prime Min- security in the future. ister Shinzo Abe held a King Abdullah responded OJapan-Jordan Summit that he always remains Meeting with His Majesty King deeply appreciative of Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, King of Japan’s unchanging sup- the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. port for and cooperation Regarding bilateral relations, with Jordan. King Abdullah The Japan-Jordan Summit Meeting, 27 October 2016 Prime Minister Abe expressed his also referred to the major hope that with the signing of the economic and social bur- memorandum on defense cooper- dens being experienced by Jordan, accepted vast numbers of Syr- ation and exchanges there would including the influx of refugees, ian refugees, and being engaged be further advances in bilateral and expressed support for Japan’s in full-scale efforts to counter cooperation in the defense-related various initiatives in the interna- terrorism and extremism. In field. He also referred to the imple- tional community. this context, the Prime Minister mentation of a total of 1 billion yen Prime Minister Abe stated that announced that the Government in grant aid for security-related Japan would continue to provide of Japan would provide approxi- measures, noting that Japan seeks strong support to Jordan, which mately 30 billion yen in yen loans to cooperate with Jordan in areas is a cornerstone of stability in to Jordan as a new development relating to counter-terrorism and the Middle East region, having policy loan.

Photographs and text courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Government of Japan. 4 | highlighting japan Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

Japanese culinary culture is flourishing around the world, its appeal lying not just in the taste and quality of the food itself but in the manner in which the dishes are prepared, served and traditionally enjoyed. In this month’s Feature Story we introduce some of the remarkable range and defining characteristics of Japanese cuisine, from the training of top chefs to the forging of quality kitchen knives; from the juicy Fuji apples of Aomori Prefecture to the refined green teas of Uji; and from the sophisticated banquets of the Edo period to the down-to-earth izakaya inns of today. Enjoy the feast!

november 2016 Photo: Yoshifusa Hashizume | 5 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

he number of Japanese restaurants overseas An Introduction to has been increasing in recent years, and rising Tnumbers of foreign tourists have been com- ing to Japan to enjoy Japanese cuisine. We asked Japanese Cuisine Yoshiki Tsuji, president of Tsujicho Group, which has trained chefs in a wide variety of cuisines, about the special features of Japanese culinary culture and the internationalization of Japanese cuisine.

Can you tell us how Japanese culinary culture was formed? The natural environment has influenced Japanese culinary culture in various ways. Throughout Japan, for example, localities have a variety of their own dishes and processed foods using fish and shellfish. This diversity has arisen thanks to the many rich fishing grounds off the Japanese coast. The waters of the Pacific off the coast of Tohoku are a typical example. This area of the sea marks the confluence of the Oyashio Current, which flows from north to south, and the Kuroshio Current, which flows from south to north. It has no equal anywhere in the world for the species and volumes of fish available. Japan’s culinary culture has been influenced by other countries as well. Rice cultivation, an impor- tant component of Japanese cuisine, was imported from the Chinese mainland and spread throughout nearly the whole of Japan starting from the Yayoi period, which lasted from around the third century BCE to about the third century CE. Owing to the influence of Buddhism, which was imported from China beginning in the sixth century, consumption of animal meat was banned or limited, so the foun- dation of Japanese culinary culture became cen- tered on rice, vegetables and marine products. During the Edo period (1603–1867), when exchanges with foreign countries were virtually cut off, Japanese dietary culture developed in unique ways. For example, kaiseki ryori developed under the influence of shojin ryori and sado (tea ceremony) became increasingly popular among the wealthy classes, including the Kyoto kuge nobility and rich Yoshiki Tsuji, president of Tsujicho Group

Photo: Yuichi Itabashi

6 | highlighting japan Osaka merchants. In Edo (present day Tokyo), to open a restaurant offering dishes which blend meanwhile, sushi, tempura, soba and other styles Korean and Japanese cuisines. of cuisine were served at street stalls as a kind of fast food. What will be necessary to further popularize Jap- After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Western anese cuisine overseas? style foods became widespread, as did the con- There’s been a rapid increase in the number of sumption of animal meat. This led to the develop- Japanese restaurants overseas. However, there is ment of dishes such as sukiyaki, pork cutlet, curry a chronic shortage of human resources in the field rice and other dishes that were Western in origin of Japanese cuisine and, moreover, it would be but arranged in a Japanese style. presumptuous to assume that only Japanese can So you could say that the Japanese have understand Japanese cuisine. It’s very important adapted and refined a variety of culinary cul- that we boost the number of foreign chefs who’ve tures from other countries to create one which is mastered the necessary techniques, knowledge uniquely Japanese. and sanitation practices in Japanese cuisine. Toward that end, the Tsujicho Group has How have traditional Japanese foods such as kai- formed educational ties with schools in Thai- seki ryori influenced Western cuisine in turn? land and South Korea with a view to developing Japanese cuisine began influencing Western cui- a unique curriculum through which students can sine from the 1970s. Top European chefs came to learn both the techniques and the culture of Jap- Japan at that time and sampled various Japanese anese cuisine. Just this September, we have also foods such as sushi, sukiyaki and kaiseki ryori. begun a partnership with the Culinary Institute of Astonished at how delicious it was, they began America to conduct specialized courses in Japa- using soy sauce as a condiment in their own cook- nese cuisine. ing and adding raw fish to their menus. Some We also need to make it possible for people cooks later began to use uniquely Japanese coag- overseas to enjoy other Japanese dishes besides ulants such as kuzu starch. Most recently, first- sushi, tempura and ramen. As one effort toward rate chefs have invented Western dishes originat- that end, Tsujicho Group in 2011 opened a restau- ing in traditional Japanese cooking techniques, rant called “brushstroke” in New York jointly with including foods using dashi (soup stocks) made an American chef. While the restaurant remains using kelp. faithful to the traditional techniques of Japanese In recent years, increasing numbers of for- cuisine, it also serves a form of kaiseki ryori which eigners have been learning cooking in Japan. the locals can enjoy. Right now there are about 200 foreign students There’s great diversity in Japanese cuisine. It’s from Asian countries studying at Tsujicho Group also both traditional and innovative. schools. This is more than 2.5 times the number To make people overseas more aware of the we had five years ago. In Japan they’re not just qualities of Japanese cuisine, we plan to train studying Japanese cuisine but also techniques for chefs with the ability to adapt Japanese tastes and preparing refined Chinese cuisine, Western cui- service in ways that are accepted by local people sine and confectionaries. Many of these foreign even as they remain true to the authenticity of students have very specific plans. One Indonesian Japanese cuisine. student wants to popularize confectionary culture in her own country, and a Korean student wants Inverview by OSAMU SAWAJI

november 2016 | 7 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

Hunks of katsuobushi on sale at the Wadakyu stall Photos: Masatoshi Sakamoto Starting with Stock

Whether it be miso soup in the morning, a bowl anese dishes, such as one-pot nabe stews, miso soup of ramen at lunch or a multi-course kaiseki ryori and all manner of noodle dishes. dinner at night, good Japanese food is typically The ingredients typically used to make dashi, defined by its stock, its lovingly prepared dashi. either singularly or in combination, are katsuobushi (dried, fermented bonito), dried kombu kelp, niboshi OSAMU SAWAJI (dried sardines) and dried shiitake mushrooms. “One of the obvious characteristics of dashi UMAN beings can detect five basic tastes: ingredients is that they have been dried,” says Jun sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Nakayama, manager of the Wadakyu stall at Tokyo’s Umami was discovered and named in 1907 Tsukiji Fish Market. “Desiccation intensifies the Hby Dr. Kikunae Ikeda (1864–1936) of what ingredients’ flavors and also means they can be is now the University of Tokyo. Comprising glutamic stored for a long time. It is said that samurai carried acid, inosine acid, and guanylyl acid, umami can be blocks of katsuobushi with them as an emergency detected to varying degrees in vegetables, meat, fish, food supply going into battle.” seaweed and other foodstuffs. Wadakyu, which was founded in 1925, specializes In many cuisines around the world, broths are in the production and sale of katsuobushi. Production made by extracting the flavours contained in cer- of authentic katsuobushi takes about four months to tain ingredients through simmering. In French cui- complete, the process entailing filleting the katsuo sine, for example, bouillon is prepared by simmering bonito, boiling and deboning the fillet, steaming it, animal bones, vegetables and aromatic herbs and is cultivating mold on the surface and periodically dry- used as a base for soups and sauces. In Chinese cook- ing it in the sun. The finished product looks like a ing, a master stock is prepared with a wide variety of hunk of wood and has been certified as the hardest spices and flavorings and used for poaching meats. food on the planet by Guinness World Records. In Japan, dashi stock is prepared by simmering or To make dashi from katsuobushi, finely shaved steeping ingredients that are packed with umami. katsuobushi flakes called kezuribushi is steeped in The dashi produced is used as the base for many Jap- hot water to extract the maximum flavor. Kombu on

8 | highlighting japan 1 Wadakyu’s dashi ingredients stall at Tsukiji Fish Market 2 At the Wadakyu stall, a group of foreign tourists sample kezuribushi, or shaved katsuobushi 3 Workers cut and trim bonito at the Wadakyu factory in Galicia, Spain. Photos: Masatoshi Sakamoto (1, 2); Courtesy of Wadakyu (3)

1 the other hand is simmered, for about thirty min- utes. The most basic dashi is prepared by first sim- mering the kombu and then adding the katsuobushi. In the past, Japanese families shaved katsuobushi by themselves, but today most households prefer to use ready-made flakes. Nevertheless, the labori- ous and time-consuming nature of traditional dashi preparation is testimony to the long history and wis- dom of Japanese culinary culture. According to the non-profit organization Umami Information Center, dashi made of katsuobushi and 2 kombu combined can increase the flavor of a soup by a factor of seven or eight compared with a soup using only one of the two ingredients. In addition, the strong umami flavor generated by dashi reduces the impulse to add too much unhealthy salt to dishes. “The use of dashi properly made using all natural ingredients brings entirely different flavors to the dining experience,” says Nakayama. “In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of 3 foreigners who know about dashi and what umami brings to food. I am sometimes peppered with a bar- katsuobushi production process. rage of questions at the stall from foreign customers, Wada has been visiting wholesalers and restau- something I find delightful.” rants in many parts of Europe to promote Spain- In response to growing demand overseas, Wada- produced katsuobushi. The product has come to be kyu started to produce katsuobushi in Galicia, Spain highly valued by chefs at Japanese and other restau- in 2015. Katsuobushi cannot be exported to Europe rants besides. owing to regulations concerning its production “Japanese people have the cultural custom of method, which explains why many Japanese restau- making maximum use of food materials such as rants in Europe use katsuobushi produced overseas. fish and vegetables,” says Wada. “After making “I had a bowl of soup in a Japanese restaurant in dashi using katsuobushi, Paris about ten years ago, but it did not taste so good,” for example, we might use says Wadakyu President Sachiyuki Wada. “The res- the squeezed-out and dried taurant owner told me he could do nothing about it flakes a second time as a because he was not allowed to import katsuobushi.” topping for rice. We want to Wada chose Galicia as the location for produc- expand and promote that tion because it is a port through which many Euro- culture through our sales of pean bonito are landed before canning. The bonito katsuobushi as well.” brought into Galicia is not significantly different in quality from that used to make katsuobushi. More- A cook shaves a block of katsuobushi using a traditional over, the dry Spanish climate is well suited to the box slicer called a kezuriki.

november 2016 | 9 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

Edo Banqueting Reborn 1

Tezen Museum in Shimane Prefecture showcases including vegetables, fish, shellfish, tofu, mush- the haute cuisine of Edo times. rooms and seaweed. Japanese until the Edo period avoided eating animal meat such as beef and pork for MIHO YANAGISAWA religious reasons rooted in Buddhist teaching, but ingredients such as chicken, duck, quail and other onzen ryori, a traditional form of Japanese fowl were used in cooking. Even today, vestiges of cuisine, originated in the highly refined honzen ryori are seen in the san-san-ku-do at the banquets of the Heian period (794–1185), wedding ceremony and in the zoni consumed at New the golden age of aristocratic culture, and Year’s dinners, but it is extremely rare in the Japan Hsubsequently became established as a banquet style of today to see celebrations conducted based on the of the samurai class during the Muromachi period forms of honzen ryori typical of the Edo period. (1336–1573). During the Edo period (1603–1867) hon- Tezen Museum in the Taisha-cho district of Izumo zen ryori became popular among town and farming City in Shimane Prefecture recreates the cuisine folk at weddings and other celebrations. of the Edo period based on menus preserved at the Honzen ryori begins with a dish called shiki- museum. At a workshop which Tezen Museum held sankon. About six dishes are served in turn, includ- on October 17 at the Shimane Museum of Ancient ing zoni soup, followed by the first course called Izumo in Izumo City, some of the honzen ryori reci- ichi-no-zen, and then a second (ni-no-zen) and third pes served at a wedding celebration of the Tezen (san-no-zen) served on trays called suzuri-buta. In family in 1857 were recreated. the latter part of the Edo period, a style of honzen At that time, more than a hundred dishes might ryori that was simpler in terms of the types and num- be served at wedding celebrations conducted over a bers of dishes was served to commoners. number of days. Given Izumo’s close proximity to the Various base ingredients are used in honzen ryori, mountains and the sea, local people have made good

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1 A jubako (stacked box) set prepared with iwai-kamaboko use in their cooking of the diverse ingredients avail- (celebratory fish cakes), spinach, kotake mushrooms and udo spikenard. The umewan soup includes broiled sea bream, able in the region. These include fish and shellfish mushrooms and other ingredients. The small plate holds norimaki- such as sea bream, which even today is consumed as zushi. 2 Under the guidance of Noboru Ando (right), workshop participants a special dish on celebratory occasions, prized Izumo make norimaki-zushi. nori seaweed, freshwater fish, wild edible plants and 3 Norimaki-zushi arranged on a large plate of Imari ware. mushrooms. Many dishes were prepared using large 4 At the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo, workshop participants sample the food they prepared. amounts of sugar, which was considered a delicacy during the Edo period. The instructor of the workshop was Noboru Ando, of a crane, the symbol of long life and prosperity, who operates a Japanese restaurant in Izumo City. together with a flowing water pattern made using He led ten participants in recreating eleven dishes, the maki-e technique. The other is lacquerware including norimaki-zushi, or sushi wrapped in sea- embossed with the crest of the Tezen family. weed, and broiled sea bream. The recipes given in The umewan soup featured five ingredients the historical materials do not describe the prepara- including broiled sea bream chosen to harmonize tion methods, so preparing the dishes today requires with the five plum flower petals of the shikki lacquer- some imagination. But condiments such as soy ware bowl’s design. The large plate used to serve sauce, salt, sugar and vinegar were already available the norimaki-zushi was a piece of brilliantly colored during the Edo period, so it is unlikely that the origi- Imari ware of the late Edo period. nal taste was very much different. “Japanese people don’t normally use traditional After about two hours, workshop participants Japanese crockery for daily meals these days,” says finished preparing the foods and arranged them on Anri Sasaki, curator of Tezen Museum, “but lac- Japanese-style crockery handed down through the querware is soft on the lips and has a warmth that Tezen family. Four dishes were served in jubako plastic dishes lack. Also, one can most appreciate stacked boxes, or lacquered wood boxes used to the beauty of Imari ware when food is carefully serve food on celebratory occasions such as the New arranged on it. The workshop enables people to Year. These dishes included understand the richness of Edo-period cuisine and kotake shiroae, prepared to experience the fun and thrill of enjoying it on using kotake mushrooms, a original Japanese crockery.” rare food ingredient today, Participants in the workshop echoed these senti- and Spinach ohitashi. ments, saying that the lacquerware was unique in The two types of jubako that the bowl was not hot to the touch even though box sets used in the work- the contents were. They also said it was nice to feel shop date from the late Edo the spirit of service of the Tezen family in the food period. One bears the image and dining ware. Through workshops and museum displays, Tezen Museum plans to continue its efforts to popularize A jubako stacked box set decorated with cranes dating from the late Edo period. the culture of Izumo in the Edo period. All photos: Masatoshi Sakamoto

november 2016 | 11 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

Shin Hinomoto is located beneath the railway tracks close to Yurakucho Station.

Meet You Shin Hinomoto in Yurakucho is widely recognized as one of Tokyo’s finest izakaya. at Andy’s! TOSHIO MATSUBARA

zakaya are where ordinary people go to and yakitori grilled chicken restaurants are also enjoy Japan’s unique drinking culture, in located. Shin Hinomoto is packed with cus- which a wide variety of dishes are served tomers every night, many of them repeat for- and shared alongside big jugs of beer and eign customers who refer to the place simply Iother beverages. Unpretentious and reasonably as “Andy’s.” priced, izakaya are popular venues for after- The manager of Shin Hinomoto is English- work drinks with colleagues as well as for office man Andy Lunt. In 1978, Lunt married Etsuko parties such as bonenkai. Adults of all ages and Nishizawa, who had studied in the United King- both sexes visit izakaya to eat and drink and dom. In 1986 he came to Japan to take over the enjoy the venues’ typically down-to-earth, con- management of a long-established izakaya orig- vivial atmosphere. inally owned by Etsuko’s grandfather. One of Tokyo’s best known and most popu- At that time, Etsuko’s father was managing lar izakaya is Shin Hinomoto, which is situ- the tavern, and from the morning of the day ated under the elevated railway tracks near after he arrived in Japan, Lunt began accompa- Yurakucho Station, where many other izakaya nying his father-in-law to the Tsukiji Fish Mar-

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1

1 Shin Hinomoto is packed with local office workers every night. 2 A serving of mixed sashimi at Shin Hinomoto 3 French tourists with a plate of crab legs at Shin Hinomoto 4 American and Japanese businessmen enjoy the large jugs of beer typical of 2 4 izakaya. ket to make wholesale purchases of seafood. Lunt An unusually large number of non-Japanese visit had been a restaurant manager in Britain, but he had Shin Hinomoto. never previously experienced fish shopping at a mar- “We do not run a specific promotional campaign ket. Lunt quickly improved his Japanese and izakaya for overseas visitors; most of our non-Japanese cus- management skills through his experiences at Tsukiji tom is foreign businessmen working in Japan who Fish Market and of customer service in the izakaya. advertise the tavern by word of mouth,” says Etsuko. He took over the management of Shin Hinomoto “We also welcome customers from many countries from his father-in-law in 2010 and has grown it into who have found us in guidebooks. We are delighted an even more popular izakaya. that our customers rate our cooking so highly.” The main reason for Shin Hinomoto’s popularity is English menus are available at every table and the extremely high quality of the seafood. almost all the staff can speak English. The low, arch- “I’ve been making wholesale purchases at Tsukiji shaped ceiling of the second-floor restaurant creates Fish Market for thirty years now, so I know all the a distinctively cosy and often noisy ambience. good items that are caught in particular places “The sashimi, grilled fish, tempura… Everything throughout the seasons,” says Lunt. “I buy only the served here is fresh and tastes good,” says an Ameri- best fresh seafood. I simply want to serve delicious can businessman who is a regular customer. “Andy dishes at reasonable prices. That means everything tells us the day’s specials whenever we come. If to us.” someone wants assorted sashimi, Andy offers a flex- There are a number of meaty items on the menu ible arrangement by confirming whether anyone such as stuffed gyoza chicken wings, steak and sau- does not like cuttlefish or octopus, for example. The sages, but it is the seafood that is the star, with cus- tables are located so close to each other that I can tomers wolfing down mixed plates of sashimi, succu- easily enjoy talking to someone I have met for the lent grilled fish, huge pan-seared scallops and baby first time. I think that this friendly, sociable atmo- clams steamed in sake. sphere is unique to izakaya.” All photos: Yoshifusa Hashizume

november 2016 | 13 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

A Fuji apple orchard in the foothills of Mt. Iwaki, Aomori Prefecture

Open Orchards

The apple farmers of Aomori Prefecture are The best known variety of apples grown in Aomori extending their branches to markets in Asia. is Fuji, which was developed in the 1960s. Fuji apples are juicy, sweet and fragrant, and can also be stored TAKASHI SASAKI for a long time. The prefecture produces about fifty varieties of apples with Fuji apples making up about omori Prefecture, located in the north- half of that production. ernmost part of Honshu, is the largest pro- In recent years, the apples grown in Aomori have ducer of apples in Japan. Apple cultivation become increasingly popular abroad, though export Abegan here after the Meiji Restoration of from the prefecture actually began as early as 1899. 1868, when many formerly privileged samurai sank “Japanese people were not in the habit of eating into poverty. The new government encouraged the apples before the fruit started to be cultivated. At introduction of apple cultivation to create employ- that time, the fruit was hardly sold at all in Aomori,” ment in the prefecture. says Mamoru Fukasawa of the Aomori Prefecture The weather is cool in Aomori even in the sum- Apples Export Association. “The merchants who mer, making it a perfect place to grow apple trees, bought apples from the farmers traveled to domestic which are vulnerable to heat. The large temperature locations where there were foreign settlements, such differentials throughout the day also help foster the as Hakodate and Yokohama, and even to Russia and growth of sweet, delicious fruit. Meanwhile the slow China to sell the fruits.” and steady efforts of farmers to increase orchard Exports continued but were unstable owing to acreage and the push for varietal improvements have such factors as war, poor harvests and price declines. boosted the prefecture’s apple production. Last year Apple exports hovered at around 2,000 tons every the prefecture produced 470,000 tons of apples, year in the 1990s, but shot up in 2002 when Taiwan nearly 60% of the entire domestic production. joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and

14 | highlighting japan 1 Hiroka Hirosaki Central Vegetable and Fruit Market in Hirosaki, Aomori, the collection point for apples harvested in the prefecture 2 Aomori apples on display at a Taipei supermarket 3 Representatives of Aomori promote apple sales in Taipei. lifted its restrictions on apple imports from Japan. The Taiwanese give apples as gifts at Chinese New Year and dedicate the fruit to their Buddhist dei- ties. The Taiwanese cultivate tropical fruits such as bananas, papayas and mangoes, but apples are diffi- cult to grow in the country due to its hot and humid climate and they make up Taiwan’s largest imports 1 of fruit. “Because Taiwanese consider red to be a happy and auspicious color, the vividly red apples of Aomori are very popular in Taiwan,” says Fukasawa. “During the period when there were restrictions imposed on imports, many of the apples that Aomori exported to Taiwan were large-sized fruits with high prices. This explains why Taiwanese associate the apples grown in Aomori with luxury items and con- tinue to treat them as gifts even today.” In 2015, Japanese apple exports hit an all-time high of 36,304 tons with apples produced in Aomori accounting for more than 90% of the total. Of the 2 seventeen apple importers, Taiwan’s imports were the largest at 27,301 tons. In recent years, there has been an increase in Taiwan’s imports of reasonably priced small- and medium-sized varieties such as Fuji and Orin, as well as the expensive, large-sized varieties typically given as gifts, such as Sekai-ichi and Mutsu. The Aomori Prefecture Apples Export Association has carried out a wide range of initiatives to increase the popularity of apples in Taiwan. One measure is the establishment of the Taiwan-Aomori Apple Friendship Society with Taiwanese traders and bro- kers. The Society invites about ten Taiwanese rep- 3 resentatives to Aomori once a year for an exchange of information and a fact-finding tour of produc- “Aomori Prefecture has set the goal of increasing tion sites, and carries out campaigns for apples pro- its apple exports to 40,000 tons by 2018. Fortunately, duced in Aomori in the stores in many parts of Tai- we have had no major natural disasters so far this wan. Thanks to its cooperative efforts with Taiwan, year and have succeeded in growing a rich crop of in recent years Aomori has enjoyed a significant high-quality, sweet and delicious apples,” says Fuka- increase in apple exports to Hong Kong, China and sawa. “We sincerely hope that more people from Southeast Asian countries through overseas Chinese Asia, including Taiwan, will enjoy eating apples pro- networks by way of Taiwanese traders. duced in Aomori than ever before.” All photos: Courtesy of Aomori Prefecture Apples Export Association

november 2016 | 15 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

A tea field in Wazuka-cho, Kyoto Prefecture All photos: Tadashi Aizawa

Everyone’s Tea lovers from around the world are buying in to Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. Cup of Tea KYOKO MOTOYOSHI

azuka-cho in Kyoto Prefecture is ing about the cultivation, processing, and cultural known to connoisseurs of Japanese aspects of Japanese tea. Since it launched the pro- tea as the heartland of Uji tea, one of gram in 2012, Obubu Tea Farms has accepted over Wthe most highly prized tea brands in sixty interns from seventeen countries. all Japan. They began cultivating tea here, close to The foreign interns play a key role coordinating the town of Uji which gives the tea its generic name, Obubu Team Farms’ twice weekly Tea Tours, which early in the thirteenth century, and today Wazuka- this year will attract some 1,000 foreign visitors. cho accounts for close to half of Kyoto Prefecture’s “Many of our visitors hail from the United King- total tea production. Many of the town’s population dom and Eastern Europe, where there are estab- of about 4,200 people are tea farmers. lished tea-drinking cultures,” notes Yasuharu Matsu­ In the Kyoto dialect, tea is referred to as “obubu,” a moto, vice president of Obubu Tea Farms and a slang word that is now familiar to thousands of peo- Japanese tea instructor. ple overseas who have visited Wazuka-cho to learn After a warm welcome at the farmhouse in the about tea farming and culture at Kyoto Obubu Tea morning, Tea Tour participants get their first expe- Farms. Established in 2004, Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms rience of Japanese tea agriculture after a 20-minute is an organization with a mission to bring quality drive up a steep mountain road to a mountain peak Japanese tea to the world, contribute to the local and commanding spectacular views of the surrounding global community through tea, and enhance interest tea fields. Here participants are taught the correct in tea and agriculture through education. way to pick tea, with farm staff and interns explain- As part of its business cultivating and selling pre- ing the importance of picking the buds, whose leaves mium tea, Obubu Tea Farms operates a training pro- have yet to open on the tips of the branches, and the gram for non-Japanese tea enthusiasts. Over a period two leaves just beneath them using just one hand. of three months, foreign interns help to manage the Tour participants spend about an hour in the field online shop and other customer services while learn- picking tea leaves, flowers, and seeds.

16 | highlighting japan 1 Fiona Kewley, a British intern at Kyoto Obubu 1 Tea Farms, talks with participants on one of the company’s Tea Tours. 2 A tea lover familiarizes himself with the smell of raw aracha tea leaves. 3 The sampling of teas

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The afternoon is given over to a tea tasting ses- far attracted approximately 900 subscribers from sion. Obubu Tea Farms uses aracha tea leaves exclu- sixteen countries, including Japan. Retail sales of sively for its products, aracha being unrefined tea the company’s wide variety of teas are conducted that uses the entire leaf and stem with nothing going mostly through its lively and instructive English- to waste. At Obubu Tea Farms, the aracha tea leaves language website and online store, with customers are steamed, rubbed, and partially dried on the same from no fewer than sixty-five countries having so far day that they are harvested. A variety of aracha teas placed orders. are sampled including such popular styles as hojicha, “Agriculture is a risky business and traditionally genmaicha and matcha. Many participants have such farmers have had to bear the financial burden of a strong preconception of what Japanese tea tastes ownership on their own. However, in recent years like that they are surprised by the different aromas the concept of Community Supported Agriculture and flavors of these contrasting tea styles. (CSA) has gained traction, this being a type of agri- In 2009, Obubu Tea Farms introduced a tea field culture that is supported by consumers as well as ownership system under which subscribers receive local communities,” says Matsumoto. “Our tea field a delivery of teas grown and processed by the com- ownership system is one example. Obubu Tea Farms pany four times a year in return for a monthly part- aims to achieve sustainable agriculture and serve as ownership fee of 1,500 yen. The program has so a new business model for tea.”

november 2016 | 17 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE

Kameda Seika also manufac- Kaki-no-tane tures and sells a range of rice crackers in China, Thailand enbei rice crackers are typi- Kameda Seika Co. has been and Vietnam. Scally savory snacks that making and selling kaki-no- “Asian countries have their have been eaten in Japan for tane in the United States own traditional rice crackers but centuries. Of the countless since 1989. many seem to enjoy the charac- varieties, kaki-no-tane, named “Obesity and adult-onset teristic crunchy texture of Japa- diseases became recognized as social problems in the United States in the 1980s, and low- fat, low-calorie Japanese rice crackers started to attract attention as a result,” says Aiko Maruyama of Kameda Seika. Have a “In the United States, rice crackers are regarded as a kind of health food.” Break In the United States, kaki- no-tane are marketed under a different name, Kameda Crisps, but the snack is prepared using nese rice crackers even more. exactly the same recipe as that Above all, Asian markets think used in Japan. Initially Kameda­ highly of Japanese food manu- Crisps did not sell well in a facturers,” says Maruyama, who country that was still new to rice adds that the company is con- crackers, but since the launch of sidering a launch in Europe in a registered gluten-free variety the future.

in 2013, sales have doubled. Wasabi- and chili-flavored Kameda Crisps Courtesy of Kameda Seika Kaki-no-tane served with peanuts in the popular combination known as kaki-pi Courtesy of Kameda Seika

after the little crackers’ distinc- tive persimmon seed shape, are particularly popular through- out Japan. Often sold together with peanuts in a combination known as kaki-pi, the highly moreish chili-infused soy sauce coated snacks have been win- ning fans overseas.

18 | highlighting japan ture of Kit Kat bars A stick of cranberry and almond- Kit Kat in Japan is the wide topped Moleson, a bar in the Kit Kat variety of flavors in Chocolatory series Courtesy of Nestlé Japan it Kat bars as the world which they are man- Kknows them today were ufactured, such as created in England in 1935. It fruit, Japanese sake is said that around 700 of the and matcha green chocolate-covered wafer bars tea flavors. More than 300 varieties of Kit Kat bars have been developed for “Japa- sale exclusively in Japan. nese Kit Kat “Japan’s diverse food culture bars have been widely Introducing two of the helps to explain the develop- discussed in social media most sought-after snacks ment of so many differently fla- channels and have become of Japan vored Kit Kat bars,” says Takuya something of a phenomenon Hiramatsu of Nestlé Japan. overseas,” says Hiramatsu. KUMIKO SATO So-called regional Kit Kat According to Hiramatsu, bars utilizing local food spe- the most popular regional Kit cialties such as apples or straw- Kat bar is currently the wasabi-­ berries are popular souvenirs flavored version available in for Japanese and international Shizuoka Prefecture. tourists alike. The first such Meanwhile high-end Kit regional Kit Kat bar was pro- Kat varieties in the Chocola- duced in 2002, this being a tory series have been available Kit Kat flavored with melon, in Japan since 2014. Selling a specialty of Yubari in Hok- for between 300 and 500 yen, kaido. It became so popular these special edition Kit Kats that overseas tourists went are created under the supervi- all the way to Hokkaido, the sion of leading Japanese pâtis- A box of the popular wasabi-flavored Kit northernmost of Japan’s four sier Yasumasa Takagi. Carefully Kat bars on sale in Shizuoka Prefecture Courtesy of Nestlé Japan main islands, just to get their manufactured using luxurious hands on one. ingredients and beautifully are consumed every second. packaged, they have become Japan is second only to Eng- extremely popular as gifts. land in the number of Kit Kat Kit Kat bars in the Chocola- bars consumed in the country tory series are also available each year. One contributing fac- in London and Melbourne. tor to the popular success of Kit Kat bars in Japan is their role as A box of Kit Kat bars embossed good luck charms for students with encouraging messages for taking school entrance exams. students taking exams Another distinguishing fea- (Product not currently available) Courtesy of Nestlé Japan

november 2016 | 19 Feature THE WORLD OF JAPANESE CUISINE A CUT ABOVE

The ripple pattern on knives in the Shun Classic series is reminiscent of that found on old Japanese swords

Japanese kitchen knives are the blades of choice for exquisitely well began. many chefs around the world. Japanese kitchen knives are now increasingly being used abroad. Kitchen knife exports from Japan KYOKO MOTOYOSHI amounted to around 3 billion yen in 2004, but they have risen year by year, reaching nearly 8 billion he Edo period (1603–1867) saw the flour- yen (80 million USD) in 2015. In addition, Japanese ishing of original Japanese culinary cul- kitchen knives are growing in popularity as gift items ture such as sushi and sophisticated kaiseki purchased by foreign tourists to Japan. Tryori multi-course dinners. Cooking tools, In Japan today, kitchen knives are mainly pro- including the wa-bocho (Japanese kitchen knife), duced in Sanjo and Tsubame in Niigata Prefecture, have evolved along with the development of Japa- Echizen in Fukui Prefecture, Kami in Kochi Prefec- nese cuisine. The wa-bocho is characterized by its ture, and Seki in Gifu Prefecture. different types, which are used for different ingredi- ents and cooking methods. The range of wa-bocho knives includes the deba-bocho, used to cut fish, the yanagiba-­bocho, used to cut sashimi (sliced raw fish), and the nakiri-bocho, used to cut vegetables. The wa-bocho is also characterized by its sharp- ness. Western cooking knives are good for cut- ting through joints of meat for example but are less adept at finely cutting ingredients to leave a clean edge. Since making food look good was an important part of traditional Japanese cooking, the development of keen-edged kitchen knives that cut The cutting of knife blades from steel using lasers

20 | highlighting japan Seki accounts for about 50% of domestic kitchen knife production. The city produced Japanese swords from the Kamakura period (thirteenth century) until the end of the Edo period (nineteenth century) and was home to numerous expert artisans. There was a decrease in demand for swords in the mid-Edo period during which peace endured and farming Regular use of a whetstone extends the lifespan of quality kitchen tools, such as kitchen knives and agricultural equip- knives. ment such as sickles, came to be made instead. Dur- ing and after the Meiji period (1868–1912), because and top restaurant chefs, and has been awarded the of a decree banning the wearing of swords, various U.S. Knife of the Year Award, arguably the world’s products for household use, including kitchen knives most prestigious award for knives, ten times. “Many Shun users are surprised by the knife’s sharpness,” says Yuka Matsunaga of Kai Corpora- tion. “It is also highly evaluated for its good design in comparison with the ‘heavy-looking’ kitchen knives that were sold to Western users when Shun knives first went on the market.” There are many Shun series knives on sale. The Classic series has ripple patterns reminiscent of Japa- nese swords. These patterns are naturally created by introducing multiple layers of stainless steel mate- rials. Each knife is unique and exudes a beautiful, cool, Japanese mystique. The knife handle, made of specially manufactured wood, is extremely waterproof and is shaped in a An artisan grinds and polishes a kitchen knife using a revolving donut- way that enables users to hold it comfortably, allow- shaped whetstone in a process called hatsuke. ing for a high degree of maneuverability. The shape and Western dishes, were produced and sold, and of the handle is quite different from that seen in con- Seki developed into one of the world’s three major ventional Western kitchen knives. cutlery producers alongside Solingen in Germany The process of creating Shun knives also draws on and Sheffield in the United Kingdom. the skill of craftsmen in the work of hatsuke (sharp- Kai Corporation was founded in Seki in 1908. The ening), an important process for making kitchen company produces and sells cutlery products such knives that remain keen-edged for many years. Arti- as kitchen knives, razors and nail clippers, and has sans carefully grind and polish the knives using a the top domestic share of home-use kitchen knives. donut-shaped whetstone to correct the defects cre- In recent years, Kai Corporation has been particu- ated in the machining stage. The finishing touches to larly active in the global expansion of kitchen knives. the handle are also made by hand. The company’s priority item for overseas users is the “In Japan, kitchen knives are considered to be Shun, a high-end kitchen knife brand which since items for lifelong use. We have a cultural practice of 2000 has been sold in more than sixty countries. continuing to use kitchen knives for many years by The total number of Shun series knives shipped has polishing them using a whetstone,” says Matsunaga. reached more than 5 million on the global market. “We want to promote this cultural practice to foreign Shun knives are widely used both by at-home cooks countries as well from now on.” All photos: Courtesy of Kai Corporation

november 2016 | 21 Series SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Fresh Fish for Faraway Places Physiology professor Kenji Kugino has developed a novel method for transporting live fish over long distances.

provides a solution to this problem. By AKIRA UMEZAWA anesthetizing the fish in seawater dissolved with carbon dioxide (which under normal s the Japanese culinary culture circumstances would be lethal) and con- of consuming raw fish has spread currently adding ultrafine oxygen bubbles, around the world in recent years, the new technology enables the safe, long- the global demand for the freshest distance transport of large volumes of fish. possibleA fish of many species has increased. Because the fish are anesthetized, both their However, it is difficult to transport live fish movement in the water and the amount of long distances over land or sea, and frozen waste they produce are minimal. fish is not always well suited to sushi or Professor Kugino specializes in human Professor Kenji sashimi dishes. physiology, but in 2009 was inspired by a Kugino The transportation of live fish conven- casual conversation with a friend to work on tionally requires a special truck to carry a the development of the new fish transporta- tank holding seawater maintained at a low tion technology. temperature to slow the movement of the “My friend told me that many research fish. A large initial investment is needed for projects had been conducted with a view to the truck because it must be fitted with a transporting fish from Kyushu to Tokyo but blower to deliver oxygen to the seawater, a without success,” says Professor Kugino. “It refrigerator pipes to chill the seawater, and occurred to me I might resolve the problem a power supply unit to run these devices. Moreover, the tank needs to hold a huge amount of seawater — about ten times the volume of the fish being carried — to pre- vent harmful degradation of the water qual- ity caused by the ammonia in fish waste and reduce the risk of the fish bumping into one other and damaging their bodies. Transpor- tation costs are therefore very high because the volume of fish that can be carried in this way is quite small. A new technology developed by Professor Chicken grunts anesthetized with dissolved CO2 in Kenji Kugino at the University of Nagasaki seawater oxygenated with fine bubbles.

22 | highlighting japan Professor Kugino alongside the CO2 administering anesthesia device A prototype of the container for transporting anesthetized fish is loaded onto a truck for a test conducted in May 2015.

through anesthesia.” the company,” says Professor Kugino. “I have sim- That same weekend Professor Kugino read many ply guided its engineers in the manufacture of the research papers on fish anesthesia but found no container during my holidays. It was a bit like doing successful example of long-duration anesthesia for home carpentry on the weekend.” aquatic organisms nor any explanation for why fish It took two years to complete the container pro- anesthesia was problematic. From his experience totype, and in May 2015 the company carried out with animal testing, however, he intuited that the a demonstration test transporting twenty chicken respiration of the anesthetized fish became so shal- grunts brought in at the port of Saikai in Nagasaki low that they soon died of oxygen deprivation. Prefecture to Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, more than Professor Kugino came up with the idea of keep- 1,200 kilometers away. All the fish survived the jour- ing fish alive in tanks of seawater by providing them ney with no ill effects. A second demonstration test with oxygen in quantities several times greater than in which fish will be shipped in the same container to in normal seawater (100% of dissolved oxygen), Singapore and to Las Vegas in the United States will much in the same way that a doctor places an oxy- be conducted in January 2017. The use of the con- gen mask on an anesthetized person. He discovered tainers for commercial routes in Japan will start in that by aerating seawater using ultrafine bubbles less April 2017. than several dozen micrometers in diameter, fish The aim in the future is for containers to be could take in sufficient oxygen to survive for many developed that are suitable for air transportation hours through the contact of the fine bubbles with so that fresh Japanese fish can be delivered all over their gills. In December 2009 Professor Kugino com- the world. pleted his development of the fish anaesthesia tech- “Japan catches a wider variety of fish than any nology, which causes no harm to the fish or to the other country,” says Professor Kugino. “Japanese fish humans who consume it. are products which we can be proud to share with Professor Kugino volunteered his expertise to his the whole world. We hope that many people will friend at the Marine Biotechnology Inc., which in 2013 come to discover the genuinely great taste of fresh began work to commercialize the new technology. Japanese fish, and I will be delighted if our technol- “I have not been involved in the management of ogy helps to achieve that wish.”

All photos: Courtesy of Kenji Kugino november 2016 | 23 Series HOME AWAY FROM HOME Fancy a Ramen? Meet Brian MacDuckston.

ALEX HENDY

many around the country,” MacDuckston says. “They enable ramen restaurants to showcase their regular ramen or do something special. It’s another aspect of ramen.” MacDuckston is a well known and respected contributor to Japan’s increasingly sophisti- cated ramen scene, in which the quest for supe- Brian MacDuckston appraises a rior ramen is continual and covered in a range serving of tsukemen at the Dai Tsukemen Haku festival in Tokyo. of specialist ramen magazines, on TV and most Brian dynamically through social media channels. MacDuckston MacDuckston moved to Japan from San Francisco in 2006 and had his “first good ramen” in 2008, a foodie moment that inspired ead bowed over his fifth bowl of the him to start his blog and later a youtube channel. morning, Brian MacDuckston is slurping MacDuckston’s blog today has followers in all corners noodles and talking tsukemen. His audi- of the world while his vlog posts regularly attract tens ence: a video camera and thousands of of thousands of views. MacDuckston’s review of the Hsubscribers to the blogger’s Ramen Adventures you- Michelin one-star Tsuta ramen restaurant for exam- tube channel. ple has received close to 200,000 views. Half the hits MacDuckston and a small band of friends in noo- to the blog come from overseas with popular posts dles have gathered at a park in the Shinjuku district such as those on ramen restaurant rankings suggest- of Tokyo for Day 1, Week 2 of the Dai Tsukemen Haku ing that many readers are Japan-bound travelers festival. Here, over four weeks in October, twenty looking for an unforgettable ramen experience while shops specializing in tsukemen would vie for din- on these shores. ers’ affection against twenty shops serving ramen What’s big in ramen right now? to determine the champion bowl. With the help of “When I started the blog, tsukemen was having its his friends, MacDuckston “crushed” and reviewed boom and a lot of shops were opening in Tokyo. Since almost all forty bowls. then there have been many mini booms. The big- “Until a few years ago there was just one festival gest one that has stuck is the trend for lighter, more like this, the Tokyo Ramen Show, but now there are refined soups. There’s a good example here today.

24 | highlighting japan Shinasoba Tanaka serves a really light shio [salt] “It can be a really cool adventure to get out there. ramen made with ocean ingredients. It’s really nice. There are little towns that have their own ramen cul- Shio has been huge.” ture. Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture for example Shinasoba Tanaka is an example of the new wave has thirty or forty shops devoted to the Onomichi of artisanal ramen shops that have captured the style — a shoyu (soy sauce)-based ramen with a lot of imagination of restaurateurs and diners around the seabura pork back fat in it. It’s a little city by the ocean world with their umami-loaded broths, subtle blends of special seasonings and toppings so lovingly pre- pared that even a soft-boiled egg can make your eyes roll. As subscribers to the Ramen Adventures youtube channel will tell you, MacDuckston’s eyes are fre- quently seen to roll. “In the past, ramen restaurants would often be messy, dirty places; women would never go there alone. That image has changed. Shops like Tanaka are super popular with women. It can be kind of fashion- able to do ramen now.” In addition to his media work, MacDuckston tours Japan with an English-language performance group entertaining children. “Over the course of the year Brian MacDuckston prepares to tuck into a char siu-loaded ramen at we visit every single prefecture, so that’s one of the the Dai Tsukumen Haku festival. reasons why I’ve been able to review so many shops with a huge ramen culture. People drive for an hour around the country. I get my recommendations from or more just to get in line to eat the ramen.” the Ramen Data Bank, restaurant review websites MacDuckston introduces two ramen shops every like Tabelog, ramen chefs and other ramen junkies week, though he may visit as many as ten depending like myself.” on the number of ramen tours he conducts. MacDuckston often walks or rides his motorbike “A few years back when my site started getting long distances to visit out-of-the-way ramen restau- popular I had a lot of interest from restaurateurs rants that have attracted rave reviews. overseas wanting to hire me to take them around the shops. I’ve started offering that service to regular tourists as well. The tours are a good way for short- term visitors to sample the spectrum.” MacDuckston regularly appears on TV and last year served as a judge at the Ippudo Ramen Competition, which has a 3 million yen top prize. His book, Brian’s Guide to 50 Great Tokyo Ramen Shops, is enjoying brisk sales. Ten years in to his new life in Japan, MacDuckston, who has cut beer and bread from his diet to better indulge his passion, shows no sign of tiring of deli- cious ramen noodles. Brian MacDuckston flanked on his right by two ramen restaurateurs “The thing I like most about ramen is its variety,” from Hong Kong and on his left by Philippe Inreiter, head chef and co- he says. “I’d get sick of eating the same thing all the owner of Slurp Ramen Joint in Copenhagen, and Hiroshi Shimakage, who tweets almost daily with Instagram pictures of his bowl. time.” All photos: Yoshifusa Hashizume

november 2016 | 25 Series INNOVATIVE ARTISTS

Cover art to the first Drops of God collection and Marriage – The Drops of God Final Arc © Tadashi Agi/Shu Okimoto, Kodansha, Ltd.

WineWine

RedefinedRedefinedhailed not merely for its artistry brother’s house, I tried a 1985 but because it talks about wine DRC Echézeaux for the first Bestselling Japanese manga in a new way and in an easy-to- time,” says Yuko. “The wine had series The Drops of God has cap- understand manner. The comic an enormous impact on me and tured the imagination of wine books are so highly regarded in triggered the idea for the manga. lovers around the world. France that they are used as text- “Superb wine comprises diverse books at wine schools. Co-writers elements including nature, peo- TOSHIO MATSUBARA Yuko Kibayashi and her younger ple, culture, and time, and my brother Shin Kibayashi, who pub- experience of that wine allowed he first story in The lished the series under the pen me to instantly realize the fact. Drops of God manga name Tadashi Agi, have received My brother and I were totally series was published in numerous awards for the series, enchanted by the wine.” a weekly Japanese comic among them the Best of the Best in The Kibayashi siblings sampled magazineT in 2004. Since then, the the prestigious Gourmand World many different wines thereaf- series has become hugely popular Cookbook Awards and France’s ter, searching for ideas, but were not just in Japan but also over- L’Ordre du Mérite agricole. tormented. There are said to be seas. Translated collections of the The Drops of God is a story about 5,000 taste descriptors for series have flown off bookshelves about a quest by two competing wine, terms such as “cassis” and in China, Taiwan, South Korea, characters for twelve excellent “cedar,” but the authors found the the United States and France, with wines, called the “Twelve Apos- lexicon to be overly analytical and total sales now exceeding ten mil- tles,” and a thirteenth wine, the not sufficiently expressive to con- lion books worldwide. “Drops of God.” vey the true image of the wines The Drops of God has been “At a wine party at my they tasted.

26 | highlighting japan Writers and wine connoisseurs Shin and Yuko Kibayashi Photo: Yoshifusa Hashizume Drops of God, came to us instantly. of grape varieties and wineries Soon after that, we came up with producing fine wine, notably in the outline of a plot — the hunt for Yamanashi Prefecture. How do twelve ‘apostle wines.’” these wines hold up? The authors sample over 1,000 “We were asked by the Japa- bottles of wine every year in nese government to select the their own pursuit of the very best Japanese wines to be served at “It’s impossible to commu- wines. The stories they tell are the G7 Ise-Shima Summit,” says nicate the artistry of a painting therefore based on experience only by analyzing the paints,” rather than a prior knowledge of says Shin. “It’s the same with any given wine. wine. We felt we could pursue “What we do is cast light upon an entirely new way of express- the image of each wine,” says ing the essence of wine through Shin. “We can create and develop manga. The title of the series, The that image only after we encoun- ter a fabulous wine, and from that we can write a story. We couldn’t do it the other way around. The two of us taste the wines and talk about the images that emerge. That’s the essence of our creative process.” The “Twelve Apostle” wines identified by the authors generated a remark- able response in the real world. One wine sold out almost the moment the story describing it was pub- lished, while the price of Packaged like a fine wine, a French collection of the Drops of God manga another shot up sharply. The series identity of the ultimate wine Photo: Yoshifusa Hashizume to be announced at the end of the series, the “Drops of Shin. “It might have been diffi- God,” is therefore no doubt cult to do that in the past, but the being keenly anticipated. standard of Japanese wines has “We are fully aware of rapidly improved over the last that,” says Yuko. “We have decade or so. The endeavors of been narrowing down the Japan’s winemaking forefathers The Kibayashi siblings’ Gourmand World Cookbook Awards certificate hangs alongside candidates with all our heart.” have paid off.” their L’Ordre du Mérite agricole medal above Good wine has charms Just like The Drops of God, empty bottles of vintage wine which the writers unique to its terroir. In Japanese wines could soon be the sampled in their research. Photo: Yoshifusa Hashizume Japan, there are a number talk of the world.

november 2016 | 27 Series TRADITIONAL CRAFTS

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Wakasa in Fukui Prefecture is the The Ultimate home of Wakasa-nuri-bashi chopsticks production. Only a few craftsmen in the district however still make the chopsticks Chopsticks entirely by hand.

ROB GILHOOLY

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All photos: Rob Gilhooly 28 | highlighting japan Series

itting cross-legged on the floor of his nurikomi in which multiple, heavier coatings of urushi­ cramped studio, Seitaro Kabuku steadies his resin are applied and then dried and polished. Polish- hand and, using a pointed wooden imple- ing alone requires immense concentration and skill, ment, carefully positions a dozen pine utilizing an array of whetstones of varying degrees needlesS onto the tacky body of a pair of recently lac- of abrasiveness and a stone powder known as toishi quered chopsticks. He then places them upright on to gradually magic the patterns to the surface. Touch a rack, before moving on to others that have already up coats of lacquer to mask even the tiniest scratches dried, gently polishing each with a whetstone. As if and multiple coats of luster complete the process. by magic, a shimmering array of colors — green, red, Kabuku explains that Wakasa-nuri tradition- yellow and gold — as well as the striated hues of aba- ally uses three different techniques to create the lone shell, begin to emerge from beneath the black- base patterns. brown surface. The first is known as tamago-gara, or rankaku- “Applying the pattern, covering it up and then moyo, where eggshells are sprinkled onto the object. revealing it through polishing are the main character- The second, kaigara-moyo, uses sea shells such as istics of Wakasa-nuri,” says Kabuku, 70, in reference abalone, while the third, okoshi-moyo, incorporates to a traditional lacquerware technique that dates back such artefacts as pine needles, hinoki cypress leaves more than 400 years. “There is a trick to unveiling the or rice hulls that are embedded into the urushi and patterns that requires experience and application.” then removed to generate a groove-like pattern. Patience is a key component to Kabuku’s art, The result is mind-boggling, with shells creating which he has been practicing since graduating from the image of a star-studded night sky and pine nee- high school fifty-two years ago. One set of Wakasa- dles turning into gold-rimmed fireflies hovering over nuri-bashi chopsticks takes a year to produce, a night-black pond. incorporating twenty stages in a notoriously pains- “Protecting these traditional techniques and pat- taking process. terns is an important part of the traditional crafts- First, two undercoat layers of lacquer are applied man’s work,” says Kabuku, who in 2015 was awarded to the base material, usually wood, followed by pol- Japan’s Medal with Yellow Ribbon, which is awarded ishing, additional “intermediary” coats of lacquer annually in recognition of professional dedication. and still more polishing — all before the moyo (pat- Moving those traditions forward is another. terns), such as pine needles, have been applied. Kabuku has experimented with numerous other Most mass-produced versions of the lacquerware materials for base designs, including lace and super- style would end there, but for Kabuku, the job has market netting to hold oranges and other fruits. He only just begun. Further coatings include ainuri, has also produced computer mouses and smartphone which refers to the application of two or more differ- cases, and a stylish Wakasa-nuri ball pen, which was ent colored urushi layers on top of one another, and presented by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to U.S. Presi- hakuoki (literally “gold leaf placement”), which, in dent Barack Obama when he started his second term concert, lend a sumptuous glow to the patterns of the in 2013. finished product. “The feel of handmade items is unique, and no one The process continues with a stage known as item is the same,” says Kabuku, who produces just 400 sets of chopsticks each year and whose father and son have also been recognized by the Japanese 1 Seitaro Kabuku at work in his studio 2 The placement and removal of pine needles on the urushi resin. government for their commitment to their art. 3 Careful polishing brings the patterns to the surface. “Urushi is a symbol of Japan and Wakasa-nuri an 4 A set of Seitaro Kabuku’s chopsticks costs in the region of 10,000 important part of Japanese culture that I hope will yen at the craftsman’s workshop in Wakasa. 5 Wakasa-nuri products crafted by Seitaro Kabuku live on for many years to come.”

november 2016 | 29 Series JAPAN HERITAGE

A large Imari ware vase decorates a bridge in Imari, Saga Prefecture Photo: Satoshi Tanaka The Pursuit of Porcelain Over the last 400 years, potters in northwestern Kyushu have produced some of the world’s finest porcelain.

OSAMU SAWAJI

he northwestern coast of Kyushu is faced a short distance across the Sea of Japan by the Korean peninsula and has long served as an entry point for Korean and Chinese culture. TOne example is the introduction of porcelain. In the early seventeenth century, Korean potters skilled in the production of porcelain discovered deposits of the superior white clay necessary for the ceramic’s production at Izumiyama in present-day Arita, Saga Prefecture. Porcelain production in the region immediately took off. “In addition to having an abundant source of kaolin clay, Northwestern Kyushu abounded in good firewood and fresh water,” says Mitsuko Ide of Naga- saki Prefecture’s Kenhoku Development Bureau. “Conditions were ideal.” Throughout the Edo period (1603–1867), potters working in towns across northwestern Kyushu turned out a variety of distinctive styles of decorative porce- lain. Among the first and most celebrated was Kak- iemon Sakaida I (1596–1666) whose distinctive style of pottery is still produced by direct descendants of the potter today. It was Kakiemon Sakaida I who developed the enameling technique of overglazing colors on porcelain called akae. In the late seven- Nagasaki teenth century, the Kakiemon style of Arita ware fea- Prefecture Saga Prefecture turing exquisite paintwork on a beautiful milky white nigoshide underglaze was established. At the turn of the eighteenth century, the Kin- rande style of Arita ware emerged and overtook

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1 Tombai walls are a characteristic of the back streets of Arita 2 Potters at the wheel at Gen-emon Kiln 3 A craftsman at work on an intricate piece of Mikawachi ware

Kakiemon ware in popularity, this style being charac- terized by vivid red and gold overglaze designs. 1 In Okawachiyama in present-day Imari, Saga Pre- fecture meanwhile, Nabeshima ware was being pro- duced at the kiln of the Saga Domain. This was very high quality porcelain which was distributed as gifts to the Tokugawa Shogunate. One type of Nabeshima ware is Iro-Nabeshima, featuring graceful designs overglazed onto a distinctive indigo blue underglaze. In Mikawachi in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, craftsmen working under the direct control of the Hirado Domain specialized in the production of small porcelain figures and curios including exquisite 2 sukashi-bori openwork boxes using the purest white porcelain. There are still potters making sukashi-bori porcelain in the town today. Nearby in Hasami, Nagasaki Prefecture, climbing kilns more than 150 meters long were constructed enabling the simultaneous firing of large numbers of porcelain goods. Mass-production in this way had made porcelain affordable for ordinary people by the end of the seventeenth century. Because much of the porcelain produced in north- western Kyushu was shipped from the port of Imari it became known as Imari ware. Large quantities of 3 porcelain produced in northwestern Kyushu made its way to Southeast Asia and Europe. Japanese por- celain with its stunning translucency was in high tableware, employing the same production methods demand in Europe, where the production technique handed down from the Edo period. Items of Arita for authentic porcelain would not be developed until porcelain dating from the Edo period, known as ko- the early eighteenth century. imari (old Imari), are on display at a museum on the “Europeans were fascinated by the stylistically workshop’s grounds. accomplished designs and beautifully shaped porce- Ceramics fairs are held in the spring and autumn in lain produced in Japan,” says Ide. “Japanese porcelain many of the region’s pottery towns. The Arita Ceram- would clearly influence the production and design of ics Fair, held from late April to early May, has over 100 porcelain in Meissen, Germany.” years of history and now attracts more than one mil- Porcelain continues to be produced in many parts lion visitors annually. of Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures. In Arita alone today “Brick chimneys, tombai walls, and abandoned there are more than 100 workshops producing porce- climbing kilns give visitors a sense of the long history lain. One of the oldest and most famous is Gen-emon of porcelain production here,” says Ide. “We hope Kiln, which started operations in 1753. Gen-emon these towns and their ceramic wares will continue to makes everything from works of art to daily use foster international exchange.” Photos: Satoshi Tanaka (1, 2); Courtesy of Mikawachi Ceramics Industry Cooperative (3)

november 2016 | 31 The classic view of Takeda Castle from SPOT-CHECK Ritsuunkyo on nearby Mt. Asago Castle in the Air

n early morning in November, and white fog embraces the mountain yonder leaving only its upper reaches and the ruins of Takeda Castle at its summit exposed. The autumnal fog at Asunrise and the castle’s lofty location have seen this fifteenth-century stronghold dubbed the “floating castle” and “Japan’s Machu Picchu.” The view from Takeda Castle itself, a 60-minute hike from the mountain base, is almost as spectacular, once the fog has cleared, of course.

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