The city, now home to 1.5 million people, was home to the royal household from 794 to 1869. It's a city of 5,000 shrines and temples with a culinary tradition that has been passed down through generations, from the imperial court down through the clergy.
Because Kyoto is located near the Sea of Japan and Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake, it had a highly developed water transport system which meant that ingredients from around the country could be shipped there easily. So the city became the hive for chefs.
Other Japanese articles in this section include: Japanese Fox Noodles, Iron Chef Morimoto, Sushi in the Land of Samba, Introduction to Tofu and Eating Japanese: Do's and Don'ts.
Kyo-ryori (Kyoto cuisine) is the template upon which Japanese culinary culture grows from. The cuisine places great import on seasonal ingredients.
Kyoto cuisine envelops four styles of cooking:
- yusoku-ryori, dishes prepared for the royal court
- shojin-ryori, vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks
- kaiseki-ryori, cuisine stemming from the tea ceremony
- honzen-ryori, a formal style of dining favoured by samurai families.
Kaiseki Comes of Age
Kaiseki cuisine has become fashionable in North American cities. Kaiseki is a type of light meal taken before having tea. It's based on the central idea imbued in the tea ceremony of ichigo-ichie, which is to treasure every encounter in life since it will never occur again.
That means to offer guests food with an elevated sense of genuine hospitality: hot dishes are served hot and food is served as soon as it is prepared and in the right order. Guests are also meant to savour the season through the smells and tastes of the ingredients.
Key to the whole kaiseki-ryori tradition is the "one soup, three sides" theory. It means the meal should consist of a bowl of miso soup and three okazu (side dishes) as well as some rice. Those dishes may include sashimi, a dish of simmering fish or vegetables made with konbu and bonito flakes as well as a helping of more seafood with yam.
Healthy Local Ingredients
Kyoto cuisine is all about healthy ingredients. Many restaurants and homes serve unique Kyoto vegetables grown in the area: kamo-nasu, a plump, round eggplant and kujo-negi, a sweet, green onion.
Finally, one can't mention Kyoto unless you also mention yuba, made from soybeans that have been ground and then boiled. The milk is cooked in a shallow pan which then forms a skin – this is yuba, which is dried into yellow sheets. Yuba is often wrapped around vegetables before they are simmered or deep-fried. It's high in protein and low in fat.
As a consequence of this soybean obsession, Kyoto is often seen as the home of good tofu. Since tofu is about 90% water, Kyoto's network of underground springs are the prime ingredient for excellent, delicate-tasting tofu.
Well-known tofu dishes include hiya yakka - chilled tofu is topped with a spicy blend of grated ginger or chopped green onions, sprinkled with soy sauce – and yudofu – konbu is simmered in water, blocks of tofu is thrown in to cook. To eat, the tofu is dipped in a sauce or broth.
If you're intrigued by Kyoto cuisine you might want to take a look at the books written by Sachiyo Imai, considered the guardian of Kyoto's culinary traditions. This one-time beauty queen, now in her 70s, makes regular appearances on Japan's television cooking shows and also offers classes at her home and at a cultural centre in Kyoto.
According to Imai, Kyoto cuisine isn't just food, it's "living history."
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