The Dish

I can walk around, observe what I observe, make notes of what I note, photograph what I picture.  But the insider perspective will always take me places physically, emotionally and mentally I'd never go.  A proper Japanese meal is something an American will probably never understand.  Even the French, with their glorious culinary history, can't really compete with the Japanese.  Now I'm not talking a katsudon breakfast or even shabu-shabu.  I'm talking kaiseki, even a simplified lunchtime version.  I learned over a long lunch in a restaurant on a side street in Downtown Kyoto with kazoku Ito that not only are the cuisine and ingredients seasonal, but so is the tableware.  It is a distinctly European custom that all the dishware should be matching, with the same design from the same manufacturer.  This concept is totally bizarre, maybe abhorrent to the Japanese who feel every course, every alimentary morsel within the course should have its own special and unique dish or bowl; AND that these dishes should change with the seasons.  This means that the soup you drink in the autumn will be different from the winter, spring and summer soups based not only on the seasonally appropriate ingredients, but also on the bowl in which it is served.  All this gorgeous attention to detail means even a very simple restaurant has to have an enormous collection of unmatched tableware.  I will not even dip my toes into the subject of Japanese culinary presentation here - a true art form.  This is for another time, another meal and discussion with the Itos.