I moved to Kobe for the first time away from Tokyo where I had lived for a long time. Thanks to the great view of Mt. Rokko and Seto Inland Sea seen from the window of my studio, I can enjoy teaching students and shooting in there.
People ask what kind of cuisine I make. They ask this question because I often wear kimono and it makes them guess that I cook traditional Japanese dishes. Whenever I was asked this question, I thought “By the way, what is the Japanese home-made dishes, actually?”, but after a long year dedicated in cooking, I come to understand what the Japanese home cooking cuisine is for me. My conclusion is that it is the fusion of our own menu and an idea we gained in our life.
Kobe is a town inviting various kinds of lifestyles from various countries, and then there is a special culture called “Haikara Bunka Culture” which means the mixture of our own Japanese culture and those from abroad. This culture includes not only the Western ones but also the Asian, and those characteristics are in a good match with Japanese culture. This town encouraged me to have a new motivation to cook; “I would like to make the Japanese modern cuisine here in Kobe. The dishes which have enough advantages of my town, Kobe, and Japan, but it’s not too old. Not only that, those plates should be full of lightness and delightfulness. I will create the menu which let us calm and cheer up whenever we eat.” These beliefs in mind, I want to share those kind of cuisine with you.
I often got a word “I come to like cooking!” a lot from the students at my cooking class since I started to run my cooking class ten years ago. The outcome of your cooking can be changed greatly after you learn only a bit of clue. What is most, making the “unpurchaseable taste” by your own hands will result in your confidence, health, and even beauty. It is all my pleasure to see your face enjoying cooking without any unwillingness.
I hope I can help your dishes with my knowledge based on wisdom and Chinese Medicine, and also, I will add a bit of humor to it! I always think that whatever happens, to have an opportunity to cook can help you deeply very much in many ways. May the dishes you cook make you and people around you happy. Hope there is always a smiley face with those dishes.