Another unique Kyoto soy-based food product is yuba, the film formed on the surface of boiled soy milk. The thin, translucent beige sheets are hung, and then sold dried or fresh. The taste is a delicate, slightly sweet concentrate of soy milk. Yuba accompanies many a Kyoto dish, especially in the multi-course kaiseki meal served in better restaurants.
Although it is the gourmet epitome of Kyoto cuisine, kaiseki grew out of the simple meal served at a formal tea ceremony. The present-day kaiseki meal developed in the 16th–17th centuries as the merchant class gained wealth and sought out rarified ingredients and preparations to impress prospective clients.
While delicious, kaiseki’s most striking characteristic, however, is what meets the eye. Moritsuke, the artistic arrangement of food, is an art form in itself, and the dishes on which the food is served are a critical component. For example, the chef will consider color and texture and perhaps even reference the food to flowers or poetry. Presentation is so highly regarded that diners often whip out their cell phones to photograph the dish before them, perhaps to show their friends or to relish in memory the anticipation of culinary pleasure—before a single taste! Then comes the pleasure of uncovering the different dishes as one would unwrap a present, each course a delight to both eye and palette, each a culinary gift.
The White Plum Inn is accessed by a narrow bridge across the Shirakawa River. The delicate interior lighting of the shoji paper doors is one of the refined features of inns and restaurants along this section of the river.
A diner gracefully lifts thin strands of noodles to dip into a soy-based broth.
The colorful selection of lightly pickled vegetables signals the end of a traditional meal.
Old roads that led out of Kyoto to mountain passes had rest stops for pilgrims to enjoy a final repast before setting out. This famous inn is in the Arashiyama area in western Kyoto.
Multi-courses of elaborately presented meals are served on a selection of ceramic dishes, lacquered bowls and sometimes leaves, making the meal as visually pleasing as it is a culinary delight.
Blowfish (fugu) is as expensive as it is occasionally lethal. Chefs must be specially licensed to serve this delicacy, for the liver, when improperly prepared, can be highly toxic.
KYOTO’S EXQUISITE ARTS AND CRAFTS
The variety of arts and crafts available to Kyoto residents, the fruit of generations of artists and ateliers, is truly splendid. Surprisingly, the best place to survey the breathe and width of crafts is a department store, notably one of the larger ones: Takashimaya, Daimaru and Fujii Daimaru. The sixth floors are reserved for crafts: lacquer ware, metal utensils, ceramics, bamboo and wooden items, kimono and all manner of woven and dyed items. Exhibition halls and galleries are also an integral part of the stores as are the restaurants on the seventh floors, making department stores mammoth reservoirs of social, culinary and cultural activity, in addition to their primary commercial role.
There are numerous craftspeople practicing their art in the city today, most notably kimono and obi sashes, for rarely does a single person design and make one item. Most are collective enterprises that span many ages and skills. The Nishijin district is filled with businesses that import raw silk, begin the process of dyeing it, encase some threads with gold or silver foil for the obi, sell and repair looms, operate spinning machines, specialize in threading looms—all leading to the production of clothing—and the whole-sellers who line Muromachi Street offering magnificent seasonal showings of their products, for kimono and obi are not mass produced; each is custom designed and made.
Home to the court for 1,000 years, the city attracted its most talented artisans who continue to produce the highly prized crafts of Kyoto. Lacquered paper umbrellas, painted doors backed with gold foil, handcrafted paper- covered tea canisters, paper fans of seasonal motifs and a gorgeously glazed array of dishes produced in the Kiyomizu area along the Eastern Hills, reveal the refinement of its artisans.
Just saying the word “Nishijin” conjures up resplendent images of elegant wear, but the original meaning of the word denotes the Western campsite of a decade-long war. The rivers in Kyoto might be one of the reasons the weaving and dyeing industry settled here, for the Kamo River was often the site of luxurious lengths of dyed silk being washed and readied for the next stage of work. Today, most looms are automatic Jacquard looms, but individual artists still dot the area, especially the fingernail weavers, who spend hours bent over the cloths patiently straightening the weft with ser-rated fingernails, and the obi weavers, who create unique designs either for wealthy clients or performing artists.
Another famous product is Kiyomizu-yaki, ceramics made near the Kiyomizu Temple. Today, the old wood-firing kilns are not allowed in the city, and most production takes place in a ward beyond the Eastern Mountains. Using centuries-old techniques, steady hands apply delicate tendrils of gold enamel glaze before loading the pots into kilns for their last firing. Many shops and galleries along the Eastern Hills (Higashiyama) display fine porcelain and clay products, often with high prices that reflect the work and talent that went into them.
The best-known crafts shop is the Kyoto Handicraft Center, west of Higashi-oji, on Marutamachidori. Items range from simple greeting cards to high-end antiques with a nice representation of woodblock prints, cloisonné, pearls, lacquerware and swords.
Many antique and print shops and galleries are clustered along Nawate-dori, Furumonzen-dori and Shinmonzen-dori, three areas north of Shijo, near the Shinmachi and Gion districts, and along Teramachi, north of Sanjo-dori. A stroll along these streets can be like visiting a museum, but one in which you are allowed to handle the exhibits.
The best artists in the land served the court, and even today the concentration of ateliers makes Kyoto a delight for those with a discerning eye.
Many steps are necessary in producing a kimono. This woman is shading a stretched length of silk to be dyed, one of the early steps in the process.
The art of wearing a kimono involves understanding motifs and color combinations, the dictates of the social status of the wearer and the demands of the occasion. Here, a model pivots on the runway during one of the kimono shows that are featured daily at the Nishijin Textile Center.
A fragrant branch of the blossoming daphne infuses the tearoom with spring.