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Line-caught local tilefish from the Genkai Sea, lightly salted and grilled, with scallion, karasumi, and sudachi, in a 'hidden-flavor' broth bowl

The tilefish from the Genkai Sea used in this grilled dish is, I'd say, about as fine as it gets — thanks to the salinity of the seawater and the…

Quail shinjo

This is the soup course. Inside the shinjo, I mixed finely minced quail bone with mountain yam, an egg-yolk-and-oil emulsion, red miso, soy sauce…

Spiny lobster simmered with lobster coral

This is a warm dish. The simmering liquid for the Ise lobster with coral includes the lobster's own tomalley. It doesn't need much simmering time for…

Snow Crab and Napa Cabbage Rolled with Chrysanthemum Greens

For the vinegared dish, we added caviar as the crowning garnish.

Sukeko Kombu Roll

I hadn't made sukeko kombu-maki (raw pollock roe wrapped in kelp) in a long while, but I looked back and remembered this was a technique I used to…

Rustic-simmered dried cod

This is the bowl course. For the bōdara inaka-ni: the dried cod is soaked in rice-rinsing water for about two days to rehydrate it, cleaned, wrapped…

Herring Roe and Root Vegetable Pickle

As an accompaniment to the shinogi, served as a palate-refresher between courses, this is herring roe and root vegetable pickle. Every year, from the…

Clear soup, Japanese-style three-flavor sausage, matsutake mushroom, maple-leaf-cut carrot, ginkgo-leaf-cut kabocha squash, gold and platinum leaf, aromatic garnish: yuzu

Conger eel snow mountain

For the conger eel snow mountain, daikon radish forms the base, and conger eel together with a meringue "foam snow" create the snow-mountain effect…

Salt-pressed eggplant, Aki-murasaki eggplant, small turnip

At my restaurant, once all the courses have been served, I bring out pickles (kō-no-mono) so guests understand that the meal is coming next. For…

Rock tripe dressed with grated daikon

Tsubo-tsubo, a small lidded vessel, is a piece placed beside the sashimi course in tea gatherings, at occasions such as kuchikiri — the opening of a…

Ebi-Imo Taro

For No. 3, the new-style tumble-simmered ebi-imo — after steaming the ebi-imo, I quickly deep-fry just the surface with no coating so it doesn't lose…

Sweet simmered black soybeans

(Looking back on the year with delicacies of the twelve zodiac animals, over a drink — all of it gentle on the body and low in calories.) We began…

Kombu-cured flounder

(Looking back on the year with delicacies of the twelve zodiac animals, over a drink — all of it gentle on the body and low in calories.) We began…

Tube-cut burdock coated in shrimp powder, deep-fried

For the tube-cut burdock coated in shrimp powder, we dry and toast tiny opossum shrimp, grind them finely in a mortar, pass them through a sieve…

Butterfish grilled with avocado

Kuwai Shaped as a Pinecone

For the pinecone-shaped arrowhead tuber, we finish it in two colors using matcha, shaping it with the pincers used for soft wagashi dough.

Dried Fruit, Soft-Smoked Salmon, and Prosciutto in a Sake-Lees Cheese Dressing

The coating for the dried fruit, soft-smoked salmon, and prosciutto in sasamo-cheese dressing combines 30 g of fromage blanc, 30 g of cream cheese…

Kama-Cooked Rice, Paella-Style

This is the rice course. Though it's labeled 'kama-cooked rice,' with the idea of pairing it with wine, we tried cooking it paella-style. For the…

Shrimp-shaped taro

The simmered dish is ebi-imo, cod milt (kumoko), and maki-grade prawns, each simmered separately to absorb the seasoning. It's not on the menu, but…

Daikon and shrimp tree-ring roll

The simmered dish is daikon and shrimp tree-ring roll. The daikon is peeled into a thin continuous sheet, spread with shrimp paste, and rolled around…

Kanoko-scored steamed lily bulb

Finally, the warm dish course is lily bulb kanoko-mushi. Ground fish paste is combined with foie gras stuffed inside; the lily bulb is carved neatly…

Fukusa two-miso style

Deep-Fried Shrimp with Yuzu Fragrance and Seasonal Fruit

For the fried course, we turn dried persimmon into a paste, spread it into a sheet, and set kimi-zushi, sushi made with sweet-vinegared cooked egg…