Comments on: Aoi Matsuri Kyoto Kaiseki

By: Peter Matsudaira

Peter Matsudaira — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:57:29 +0000

The aoi I believe is wild ginger (futaba_aoi). Hollyhock is tachi-aoi so share
same kanji for aoi. Futaba_aoi and Hollyhock are very different plants. Please
compare futaba aoi pictures from Japanese web site:
http://www.botanic.jp/plants-ha/futaoi.htm

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:07:27 +0000

What’s in the hassun dishes? ^_^ Your photos are so beautiful.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:58:43 +0000

It was inspiring to look at these while teaching The Tale of Genji Aoi chapter this week back in Boston (after our year in Japan last year…). I hope it’s OK to show the images to 9 students – what a great way to see the leaves and the enduring interest in this festival 1000 year later.

Ah, how we miss Kyoto food…

By: Forager

Forager — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:44:21 +0000

Wow. I am dumbstruck – it looks so very beautiful. Too good to eat! (But of course given the opportunity, I would).

By: Peko Peko

Peko Peko — Sun, 10 May 2009 23:57:08 +0000

Hello Meg, I didn’t actually get to eat this meal. I just had an opportunity to show some of the Kyoto kaiseki themes for May and the Aoi Festival. (The beautiful photos were not taken by me.) I have eaten several of the dishes though, for example the chimaki, sushi/sashimi and some of the preserved items. The chimaki was really wonderful, it is tai sushi. (KF article coming soon)

Hello CatherineSF, Miwa knows the answer to your question, I will ask her to reply.

Hello Risa, A mini-vacation to Kyoto? Wow! That is a successful blog post! Thanks for adding us to your links! I am looking forward to hearing about your visit to Kyoto.

Hello Michal, Tanigawa-san loves the food of other countries and travels abroad often but has told me on a number of occasions that the culinary culture of Kyoto is the very best in the world. I think that comes from the connection to the tea ceremony that kaiseki has. That adds another level to it that just doesn’t exist in other countries I think (as far as I know). Chinese food includes a lot of artful cultural visual metaphor — reference to poems and paintings and so on. Sadly though, I think that a lot of China’s culture and tradition was lost to the Cultural Revolution.

Hi Marc, Yes, Kichisen and Tanigawa-san cannot be topped!

Hi Linda, Looks like ginger? The last photo, of the plants?

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:57:48 +0000

The last photo looks very much like ginger!

By: Marc @ NoRecipes

Marc @ NoRecipes — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:17:17 +0000

Wow the presentation is truly inspirational!

By: Michal

Michal — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:43:00 +0000

So beautiful!!
What a master of food and site. The world credits the French as the masters of ood but how wrong they are!!!

By: Aoi Masturi at Kichisen on Kyoto Foodie « Savory Japan Blog

Aoi Masturi at Kichisen on Kyoto Foodie « Savory Japan Blog — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:48:23 +0000

[...] culinary culture of Kyoto. The current post is about the Kyoto Kaiseki meal served in honor of the Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) at Kichisen, one of Kyoto’s finest ryo-tei. The article showcases stunning photographs that really show [...]

By: Risa

Risa — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:42:37 +0000

Meg is right, this is almost like a min-vacation to Kyoto. We leave in a few weeks and I really appreciate the preview. I just recommended this post on the blog I added to Savory Japan over the weekend.

By: Aoi Matsuri at Kichisen on Kyoto Foodie « Savory Japan Blog

Aoi Matsuri at Kichisen on Kyoto Foodie « Savory Japan Blog — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:38:30 +0000

By: CatherineSF

CatherineSF — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:15:34 +0000

Wow–gorgeous! What is the very lacy leaf on the second hassun?