A lobster, mochi, kelp, daidai- orange and persimmon offering to god, crab served amid fresh snow covered bamboo grass, red snapper sashimi served in a basket of green bamboo, pine bough and plum blossom;  it’s Oshogatsu Ryori at Kichisen.

Several hundred boxes of Osechi have been delivered, this is the most important celebration of the year in Japan, you would think that everyone at Kichisen would finally be taking a few days off work. But Tanigawa explains that a proper Kyoto restaurant must be open and serve customers during this important time of year. Kichisen offers Oshogatsu Kaiseki Ryori, Japanese New Year’s Kaiseki Cuisine, and it is as beautiful as it is delicious.

New Year’s Kaiseki
Shogatsu in Japan is a lot like Christmas, it is a magical time and custom and decoration abound. In addition to sublime and intricate cuisine, Kichisen is decorated for the season.

Kichisen Gate with Shogatsu Decoration and Candle Lanterns

Kichisen’s Oshogatsu Kaiseki includes some 13 courses, here we feature 4 of them: five bite-sized selections from osechi ryori, clear soup with clam paste garnished with gold leaf, red snapper sashimi with Seville orange-shoyu, sekihan mochi rice with azuki beans and chestnuts and finally crab served in a snowstorm.

Sakizuke Course: Appetizer

Sakizuke is the first course in kaiseki and is an appetizer. The two most prominent features this serving is the sakaki leaf and the cow on the lid of the ceramic serving tray. Shinto gods are believed to dwell in the sakaki tree and here it’s leaves are used to invite god to dinner as well. 2009 is the year of the cow, therefore a cow appears. The chopsticks are special too, both ends are tapered, the tapered end is used for eating. Symbolically the meal is shared with god.

The sakizuke course contains a few bites of 5 dishes that appeared in osechi ryori; including baby carp simmered in sweetened shoyu with ginger, kuruma-ebi (shrimp), hirame kombumaki (flounder with ginger rolled in kelp), and black bean with tsukushi bud.

Sakizuke: Appetizer

Sakizuke: Appetizer

Sakizuke: Appetizer – detail

Sakizuke: Budo Mame, Literally Grape Beans

Shiru Mono Course: Hamaguri Shinjo

Shiru-mono is a soup course. Here shinjo, also known as kamaboko-like fish paste is made with hamaguri clams, this is the white block that is garnished with kinome sansho leaves and gold leaf. The sea vegetable in the broth is called shinbaso, literally god horse grass, the origin of the name is interesting. A Japanese historic figure Minamotono Yoshitsune had to travel a long distance and his horse was exhausted. When he stopped to rest, locals fed his horse this sea vegetable and his horse made a quick recovery. Neither Miwa nor I had heard of this sea vegetable and it is quite expensive.

Shiru Mono: Hamaguri Shinjo

Shiru Mono: Hamaguri Shinjo – detail

Mukozuke Course: Tai and Ika Sashimi

This course is completely over the top. A whole tai, red snapper is served in a green bamboo hoekago (a portable shrine for the god of business called Ebisu) basket with a pine bough and budding plum branch for a roof. Pine is a very majestic and auspicious symbol in Japanese culture and plums blossom just after oshogatsu, the coming of spring. Ika, squid sashimi is included along with a simmered baby daikon radish and extremely rare black mushroom. The dipping sauce, momiji-oroshi, is shoyu with grated daikon and a tiny bit of chili pepper and a generous squeeze of the Japanese orange called daidai. Kichisen’s momiji-orishi dipping sauce is sublime!

Hoekago Tai and Ika Sashimi with Daidai Orange Dipping Sauce

Hoekago Tai and Ika Sashimi with Daidai Orange Dipping Sauce

Hoekago Tai and Ika Sashimi – detail

Notice the baby daikon and the black mushroom (triangle).

Hoekago Tai and Ika Sashimi with Daidai Orange Dipping Sauce – detail

Kichisen’s momiji-oroshi with daidai orange juice is sublime.

Hoekago Tai and Ika Sashimi Served

Gohan Course: Sekihan with Kachiguri

Sekihan, or ‘red rice’ is mochi rice cooked with azuki beans and served on celebratory occasions in Japan. Kichisen adds dried chestnuts, kachiguri. Kachiguri literally means ‘victory chestnut’, they were eaten by samurai before battle. The azuki must be extra special, I have never seen sekihan rice so deeply colored before. The color of the cooked rice comes from the azuki beans.

The ceramic container is in the shape of kohaku mochi, literally red and white mochi that is eaten at New Year’s, weddings, birth of a child and so on. The golden Chinese character on the top of the cover is kotobuki 壽, meaning congratulations.

Gohan: Sekihan Mochi Rice with Kachiguri

Gohan: Sekihan Mochi Rice with Kachiguri

Gohan: Sekihan Mochi Rice with Kachiguri – detail

Gohan: Sekihan Mochi Rice with Kachiguri – detail

The rice is really colored by the azuki!

Gohan: Sekihan – Kyoto-style Decoration

This is really ‘Kyoto’, the most extravagant part of this piece, the golden leafed area, is inside the cover. Many diners would miss this entirely. This is common in Kyoto architecture and kimono as well, the most luxuiriant part, the most expensive material is hidden, or at least difficult to find.

Gohan: Sekihan Mochi Rice with Kachiguri Served

Secchu no Kani: Crab Amid the Snow

This dish is way, way, way over the top. The scene is a winter mountain snowscape; crab leg trees in the snow and bamboo grass covered in snow made of shaved ice. The dipping sauce is kani miso, which is crab internals and vinegar.

Oshogatsu Ryori: Secchu-no-kani (Crab and Bamboo Amid the Snow)

Oshogatsu Ryori: Secchu-no-kani (Crab and Bamboo Amid the Snow)

Oshogatsu Ryori: Secchu-no-kani (Crab and Bamboo Amid the Snow)

Oshogatsu Ryori: Secchu-no-kani (Crab and Bamboo Amid the Snow)

Oshogatsu Ryori: Secchu-no-kani (Crab and Bamboo Amid the Snow)

Those snow covered bamboo leaves are exactly like I have seen them in the mountains. Amazing!

Shogatsu New Year’s Decoration and Ikebana Flower Arrangements

The prominence of food in Japanese culture, even in decoration is astounding, here are a few examples from Kichisen.

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Genkan Entry

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Genkan Entry – Kagami Mochi

Orange, dried persimmons, mochi, dried kelp, fern leaves and a lobster make up this kagami mochi offering in the entry.

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Dining Room

Food stuffs make up a central element of this decoration: heads of rice and a huge sheet of dried kelp. The colored string-like elements are flax which traditionally was used to make linen in Japan.

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Dining Room – detail

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Dining Room Flower Arrangement

Shogatsu ikebana flower arrangement in the tokonoma alcove of a dining room.

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Tea Ceremony Room Flower Arrangement

This intimate room is for the tea ceremony, kaiseki is born out of the tea ceremony. This tokonoma arrangement is in green bamboo with willow branches and a camellia flower. I have never seen an aesthetic like this outside of Japan.

Oshogatsu New Year’s Decoration: Tokonoma Alcove Flower Arrangement

Another bamboo, willow and camellia arrangement in a dining room tokonoma alcove.