Restaurant

"The origin of my cooking is growing up watching my father work," says Kishimoto. After gaining experience in Tokyo, Gunma, Aichi, Gifu, Fukushima, Niigata and other places, he was once again captivated by the richness of Shizuoka's ingredients and decided to return to his hometown. "It brings out the charm of the ingredients through cooking and gives surprise and excitement to customers," he says. He is also eager to pass on food culture, and holds cooking classes and seminars to convey the depth of Japanese cuisine to the general public. He is particularly involved in the traditional Japanese cooking technique of "Hochoushiki," honing his skills as a disciple of the Shijo Shinryu. Hochoushiki is a ceremony in which ingredients are cut using only a knife and chopsticks, and the technique and spirit of not touching the ingredients has a history of over 1200 years. Kishimoto demonstrates Hochoushiki at shrines, temples and various ceremonies to spread the traditional techniques. "Through the Knife Ceremony, I would like to convey the spirit and depth of Japanese cuisine to future generations," says Kishimoto, who feels that it is his mission to connect Japanese food culture to the future.

The grilled dishes include grilled bamboo shoots with Japanese pepper, local sweetfish with sake fragrance, and fried wild garlic and poppy seeds.

Dried cherry blossoms from Izu add colour to the dish.

The appetizer, called spring rolls, is made of bamboo shoots, sea urchin, boiled green rape blossoms, ferns, water lilies, and cherry leaves, all wrapped in a cherry-flavored sweet bean paste.

A dish with a pleasant spring scent and a beautiful appearance.

There are various schools of knife-making,

Shijo Shinryu is especially known for the beauty of its techniques and its high level of formality.

Only a few successors across the country are allowed to carry on this technique.

※Interview with the winner of The Worker of the Year 2024 (2024 edition)