An awe-inspiring Noh production took place earlier this fall at Fushimi Inari-taisha, a shrine in Kyoto. The play was performed at dusk in the hopes that it would heighten the audience’s awareness in all five senses. The theme was “see the invisible.” The troupe wanted to attract a new generation of Noh fans, so it chose the temple as an attractive place to broadcast...
An artistic renewal project at a 600-year-old temple gets a dose of youthful energy In the heart of Kyoto, on the grounds of a serene Zen temple, a young woman transforms sliding panels, known as fusuma, into vibrant works of art. Photos by Akihito Yoshida Yuki Murabayashi has been working at the temple as a resident artist since 2011. Her life is a mix...
“Lately, at the high-end shops in Ginza and Roppongi, it’s all fixed courses. No matter who the customers are, they get served the same sushi in the same order. Repeating the same thing over and over? I think that has to be a bore.” Tatsuro Shibuya has a 30-year career as a sushi chef. His shop is about a 40-minute drive from central Tokyo...
How does Seattle stack up against other American cities when it comes to sushi? We asked several people with experience here and in other cities to find out. “I think we’re fourth,” says Executive Chef Taichi Kitamura of Sushi Kappo Tamura. “We’re behind L.A., New York and San Francisco for a combination of reasons. But we’re close.” Kitamura says some of those factors include...
Take a little Studio Ghibli home with you Lincoln Square Cinema in Bellevue is the place to catch this year’s Studio Ghibli Fest, which features nine movies from the famed animation studio throughout the year. Coming next are Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (May 20-21) and Whisper of the Heart (July 1-2). These movies are beautiful to watch on the big screen,...
A Laid-Back Maid Café in the Middle of Bustling Osaka Osaka, Japan’s second city, takes its food seriously. Case in point: even the food at its maid cafés is good! Maid cafés are well-known for being about entertainment first, with food often being a distant second. At eMaid, in the lively Namba area of downtown Osaka, this is not the case. This maid café...
Uwajimaya: A Wealth of Wagyu Awaits There is arguably no better steak than the one you grill in your backyard with friends, especially if you don’t scrimp when choosing that steak. In Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, and Beaverton, there is a wealth of wagyu choices at the Uwajimaya grocery stores. Butchers are on hand to offer tips on what to choose and how to cook...
Japan wasn’t always a destination for delicious steaks and meat dishes. For much of its history, Japan consumed very little meat based on Buddhist influence, which forbade meat eating. But the wave of modernization in the late 1800s changed all that. Soon, meat was not only accepted by mainstream Japanese, it was being prepared in new and different ways by applying traditional Japanese cooking...
Ozaki Gyu has captured the imagination of chefs around the world. This unique brand of wagyu doesn’t smell, is beautifully marble, has a smooth, rich flavor, and is incredibly juicy. Ozaki is the surname of the farmer who has been improving the quality of this beef for more than 30 years: Muneharu Ozaki. The beef is named after him, just like some famous wines...
We see the word “wagyu” bandied about these days on menus and grocery store labels, but what does the term mean? In Japanese, the word is used to define four distinct breeds of beef that have been raised for the last 200 years or so. The beef quality continues to improve as cattle ranchers improve the care and diet the cows receive. The four...
