This Is Washoku (transcripts)
[Introduction: 0:00 to 3:48]
This is Japan. The changing of the seasons makes for beautiful scenery. And at the same time, bestows all the bounties of the sea and mountains. People revere nature, which has given birth to a unique food culture. Japanese cuisine is known as Washoku, and was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2013.
A characteristic of Washoku is the use of stock brewed from fish and kombu kelp to draw out the natural tastes of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Another major characteristic is the minimal use of animal fat, achieving a healthy, nutritional balance. Washoku is defined by all the attention paid to detail and the spirit of hospitality of every individual involved in its preparation.
In this program, we’ll be focusing on the very essence of Washoku.
Recently, there has been a surge in the number of people coming to Japan. The number of visitors from overseas reached 10 million for the first time in 2013, having almost doubled in the last 10 years. One of the main reasons people come is to enjoy Japanese cuisine, and not necessarily the expensive type, but the kind that Japanese people eat every day.
[Interviews with various visitors to Japan about Japanese food]
There are all kinds of Japanese food that can be readily enjoyed at any time. There are also traditional dishes for occasions such as weddings or to celebrate the New Year.
[Interviews with various visitors to Japan about traditional Japanese food such as kaiseki]
Many visitors aren’t exactly sure what traditional Japanese cuisine is. So let’s explore the essence of traditional Washoku in modern day Japan.
This is Washoku.
[Part 2: 3:50 to
Kyoto is a city alive with history and tradition and has been a favorite with visitors from overseas for over a century.
The history of Kikunoi restaurant dates back over 100 years. This longstanding institution has been awarded a total of 7 Michelin stars, including its affiliated restaurants. Their specialty is kaiseki cuisine. It originates from the Japanese tea ceremony. Dishes are primarily composed of fish and vegetables and rarely include meat. The delicate, artistic dishes reflect the four seasons, a treasured aesthetic in Japan.
The food isn’t the only thing that one can enjoy here. There is a beautifully-tended garden. Seasonal flowers adorn every room. And decorations include works of art from all over the world, all of which come together in complimentary harmony with the meal.
At the core of all Japanese cuisine is the soup stock, or dashi. Dashi is made mainly from bonito katsuobushi and kombu kelp. Japanese cuisine is characterized by the natural tastes of its ingredients, which are enhanced by this stock.
This is Mr. Yoshihiro Murata, the third generation owner of Kikunoi. His hard work contributed to Washoku becoming listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. [Speaking Japanese]. Mr. Murata is not bound by tradition. In fact, his new ideas have revolutionized Washoku. A perfect example of this is his kitchen. The large windows encourage customers to watch the chef’s finely-honed skills. The kitchen is full of innovations. Much of the basic equipment, such as the kitchen counters and air conditioners, were custom-made. [Speaking Japanese]. He did away with the traditional attire of wooden clogs and a necktie and designed his own uniforms to allow greater ease of movement. [Speaking Japanese]. He says that the chef, and not tradition, is the cornerstone of the kitchen. This revolutionary still remains passionate about his craft. His choice of ingredients is unrestrained. He actively incorporates gourmet Western ingredients, as well as hand-picked seasonal ingredients carefully grown from all over Japan. For example, the kamo eggplant has been cultivated in Kyoto since ancient times. These are bought directly from a local farm in Kyoto.
[Scene to changes to a farm]
Hayashi Ryohei (Sous chef): Vegetables grown with care take on the characteristics of their growers. It’s uncanny. This looks difficult to deal with, but it has a subtle texture and excellent taste. It’s beautiful.
The season for kamoeggplantsis June. The history and tradition of these plants cannot survive unless their seeds are carefully harvested. These seeds are cultivated and have been passed down through many generations.
Tazuru Hitoshi (Farmer): Vegetables grown in Kyoto are very popular now, but no one used to take note. I worked with Kikunoi to revive the use of traditional vegetables which had been forgotten, and our work helped us to arrive at where we are today. It was only natural for a Kyoto restaurant to use Kyoto vegetables, and I think what’s most important is for chefs at those restaurants to pay more attention to vegetables they use.
[Back to Kikunoi]
In the kitchen, the young chefs were in the middle of a meal. They improvised their own menu and made it themselves. These young trainees normally only prepare the vegetables, so it’s a good opportunity to refine their skills. The food looks ordinary, but the ingredients are top class.
Young chef: This is atsu-age with starch sauce. I made it myself. The taste is all right because I had supervision, but it took me a bit too long to make it. I’ll try to be faster next time.
Hayashi Ryohei (Sous chef): What I’ve learned from Mr. Murata is that there are no absolute answers, so you have to question everything to find your own truth. That way, you think constantly about the true nature of things and what among them is the most important. Being around others all the time allows you to share the same values. They are the values I’d always cherished myself, so I want to pass them on to the next generation, too. I feel that my job is to understand what Mr. Murata wants to convey when he makes food and clarify it and explain it to others in the kitchen.
Kikunoi has been shaped by Mr. Murata’s ideas. There is a reason for its continued popularity as one of Japan’s best gourmet restaurants.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese].
[Part 2] 12:50
Around the time the third generation chef of Kikunoi graduated universityin the early 1970s, he grew disillusioned with traditional Japanese cuisine and decided to travel around Europe.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining his decision to go to France].
But while he was there, he came to understand a hard truth about Washoku.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining his shock at finding out how little known Japanese food was outside of Japan].
[Narrator, quoting Mr. Murata]: Japanese food is not inferior. One day, I’m going to prove it to the people of France.
Mr. Murata’s heart had found its way back to Washoku by the time he returned to Japan. In fact, he promoted himself more than ever to promoting greater understanding of Japanese cuisine.
In February 2014, a dinner party was held in Paris for overseas VIPs for by France’s minister of foreign affairs to celebrate the listing of Washoku as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Eighteen chefs, with a total of 22 Michelin stars, including Mr. Murata, served Japanese cuisine to VIPs of political and business circles in France, winning rave reviews.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining the Washoku meal and the recognition of Japanese cuisine].
Japanese cuisine had won recognition in France. This prompted many aspiring chefs to come to Japan to study the Japanese culinary arts. This is Julien Verrat, the 20-year-old son of a French chef. It has been four months since he came to Kikunoi, the year after UNESCO listed Washoku as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Many foreigners have come to work for Mr. Murata over the years.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining famous chefs who have come to visit his restaurant].
Julien began studying French cooking after graduating from junior high school and trained at his father’s restaurant, among others. He is currently in charge of preparing vegetables and other ingredients.
Julien Verrat: There are many differences between Japanese and French cuisine, such as the way fish is presented. There’s a lot to learn from the way fish is prepared in Japan. French cooking is adapted to cooking meat, so I figured Japan would be the ideal place to learn about making dishes with fish. I also want to gain experience by working at a Michelin 3-star restaurant in France. Someday, I hope that I can take over my father’s restaurant [ if you are interested]. And I want to add on what I’ve learned in Japan, to build on it further.
A daily ritual after work and returning to his room is to call his father in France.
Julien Verrat: [Speaking in French with his father about his duties at Kikunoi]
[Part 3] 18:18
This is Kyoto University, one of the most outstanding universities in Japan that has produced numerous Nobel laurates. In collaboration with the university, Mr Murata established a research institute here in 2010. Chefs work alongside academics to study the possibilities of Japanese cuisine.
The term umami is now known throughout the world, and there’s no better example of umami than dashi soup stock, the heart of all Washoku.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining how Japanese cuisine is the only cuisine in the world that makes umami its central feature.]
It was found that the taste of umami can be used as a substitute for the animal fat traditionally the base of most Western cuisine in deciding the taste of food. Mr. Murata felt that this connection could create new possibilities for Japanese cuisine to spread to a wider audience. He reached out to Kyoto University’s Professor Fushiki, a leading expert in the field.
Fushiki Tohru (Professor, Kyoto University): [Speaking Japanese, explaining the differences with dashi and fat.]
Professor Fushiki regularly students and well known chefs of Japanese cuisine and has the students taste the dashi stocks of the top-class chefs.
Fushiki Tohru (Professor, Kyoto University): [Speaking Japanese, explaining how his dashi experiments are popular and offer a suggestion for healthier eating.]
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining how cooking is really all about chemistry.]
Kombu kelp, often used to make dashi stock, contains glutamic acid, while bonito contains inosinic acid and shiitake mushrooms contains guanylic acid. This means Washoku stock can be made from other ingredients, as long as they contain the same substances.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining how dashi can be made from other ingredients.]
Umami is re-created through science, all thanks to Mr. Murata’s efforts.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining how umami is becoming more important for fine cooking all over the world.]
Tonight Kyoto’s top-class chefs gather at Kikunoi. Once a month they hold a workshop. It gives them an opportunity to compare their skills. All the chefs bring original dishes made to a set theme. They share information on the seasoning and preparation methods, in search of the future of Japanese cuisine. The details of these workshops are published in a culinary magazine.
Mr. Murata: [Speaking Japanese, explaining his philosophy of how slow and steady progress, combined with tradition, lead to the evolution of a great food culture.]
Washoku, it is a culture that Japanese people cannot live without. And it’s not only about food. It’s about revering nature through an appreciation of the changing seasons and the spirit of cherishing its natural bounties. Protecting tradition inherited from ancient times, while having the adaptability and foresight to meet the future, Washoku is a reflection of the spirit of Japanese people.