Japan's grandest dinner is named after a warm stone against the stomach
The characters for kaiseki, Japan's elaborate multi-course meal, literally mean breast-pocket stone. The name recalls Zen monks who tucked warm stones into their robes to quiet hunger, and it was probably chosen by the tea master Sen no Rikyū to describe the frugal meal served before a tea ceremony.
Two different words share the sound. One, written with characters meaning a meal for a gathering, is a banquet built around sake, served on individual trays. The other, the bosom-stone version, is the modest food a host offers before formal tea, often called cha-kaiseki to avoid confusion. Rikyū, who lived from 1522 to 1591, is thought to have introduced the stone characters to match the austere spirit of the tea ceremony.
Modern kaiseki blends four older traditions: court cooking from the 9th-century Heian period, Buddhist temple food from the 12th century, the formal meals of samurai households from the 14th, and tea cuisine from the 15th. Chefs weigh them differently. Court and samurai styles lean ornate, while temple and tea styles stay restrained. Some think the principles also helped inspire French nouvelle cuisine.
What unites them is attention to the season. Only fresh seasonal ingredients are used, often local, and plates are picked to suit the meal's theme, with real leaves and flowers or edible garnishes shaped like plants and animals. A full dinner can run from an amuse-bouche-like sakizuke through hassun, which sets the seasonal note and was once served on a dish eight sun square, to sashimi, grilled fish, palate cleansers, seasoned rice, pickles and a seasonal dessert. The tea version is simpler: one soup and three side dishes with rice, plus sake-accompanying tidbits and a pitcher of hot water with lightly browned rice.
Kyoto, home to the imperial court for over a millennium, is especially associated with the style, where it is sometimes called Kyoto cooking. It is usually eaten at ryokan inns or small restaurants called ryōtei, and top places charge from 5,000 yen to above 40,000 per person before drinks. Menus often come in three tiers named after pine, bamboo and plum, with pine the priciest. The humble bento box counts as a casual cousin.
Source: Kaiseki
