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Heritage Radio Network

What is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!

Japan Eats!

Our guests are Yusuke Fukuzaki and Ryo Yamazaki, co-owners of SSAW www.ssawbrooklyn.com/ in Brooklyn, New York. The duo opened SSAW in November 2024 to serve “a refined ‘New Japanese’ dining experience, where traditional craftsmanship meets contemporary innovation,” according to its website. 

 

Yusuke has worked at top restaurants in Japan, including the three-Michelin-starred Kagurazaka ISHIKAWA and KOHAKU. Along with Ryo’s Japanese-style Omotenashi hospitality, the eight-seat charming space has become a quintessential Japanese restaurant where you get the sense of belonging to a special community like in the popular Japanese drama series Midnight Diner.

 

In this episode, we will discuss why Yusuke left a successful chef career in Japan and moved to the U.S., how he balances authenticity and creativity on his dishes, how Ryo manages to realize the Japanese-style hospitality at SSAW, the restaurant’s unique sake list and the principle behind it and much, much more!!!

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What Is The Difference Between Japanese Restaurants In Japan And The U.S.?

Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and impressive. Following his Zen monastic training in Heirinji Monastery in Japan, he moved to the US in 1999 to study at Cornell University where he eventually earned a PhD in Asian religions. Since then, he has taught Buddhist studies at prominent institutions, including U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University, Cornell University, Brown University and The University of Tokyo. Also, Rev. Matsubara is the head abbot of Butsumoji Zen Temple in Chiba, Japan, 

 

We tend to think of Zen as a part of Buddhist practices but it is quite prevalent in Japanese people’s minds and their society overall. It would be valuable for us to get to know the idea of Zen in understanding Japanese food culture as well as living a good life. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss why Rev. Matsubara decided to study and teach Buddhism abroad, what exactly Zen is and why it is instrumental and effective for us in navigating our daily lives, the concept of Engi, which can give us a fresh way to see our existence, Rev. Matsubara’s personal Zen practice and much, much more!!!

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Ask The 18th Generation Priest: What Is Zen And How Do You Practice It Daily?

Our guest is Joshua Walker who is the President and CEO of Japan Society https://japansociety.org/ in New York. Joshua has a very intriguing background. He was raised in Japan and spent his formative years in Hokkaido, northern Japan. 

 

Since Joshua left Japan at the age of 18, he has been working in global affairs and is known as a perpetual bridge-builder, citizen diplomat and trained academic with a specialization in East Asia and the Middle East. After gaining diverse global experiences, he became the president and CEO of Japan Society in December 2019. 

 

Joshua joined us in Episode #210 in November 2020 and discussed his fascinating background and the culture of Hokkaido he loves. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss various topics about Japanese culture overall with Joshua’s profound perspective, including what makes Japanese culture distinctive, where the unique Japanese mindset comes from, his thoughts on the lessons learned during World War II that ended 80 years ago with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and much, much more!!! 

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‘Read The Room’ Mindset: What Makes Japanese Culture Unique?

Our guest is Gento Torigata https://gentotorigata.com/ who is the owner and mixologist of Waltz https://waltzbar.uk/ in East London. After diverse culinary and bartending experiences in Japan, Australia and Singapore, Gento moved to London and opened Waltz in April 2024.

Waltz is truly a unique place. With his traditional Japanese mindset of appreciating seasonality, Gento offers original cocktails inspired by micro seasons along with Japanese hospitality, or Omotenashi. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Gento has built a strong career as a bartender through his global experiences, how he creates cocktails based on Japanese traditional micro seasonal calendars called NIjyushi Sekki and Shichiju Niko, the essence of Omotenashi Gento aims to practice at Waltz and much, much more!!!

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Waltz: Japanese Cocktail Culture Expressed in Seasonality

My guest today is Tim Fronzek who is a co-founder of Nosh.bio https://www.nosh.bio/ based in Berlin, Germany. 

 

Plant-based protein has been gaining attention, particularly since the 2010s for our growing health and environmental concerns. However, various products in the market may not be as ideal as it was thought to be. Some are not so environmentally friendly in their manufacturing process, or undesirable compounds are created during the high level of processing of ingredients. Also, their flavors and textures may not be very satisfying. 

 

To conquer these issues, Tim came up with the idea of using Koji, the beneficial mold used to make a majority of traditional Japanese food. His company Nosh.bio has been offering protein made with koji since 2022 to global clients. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Tim discovered Koji’s potential, the health benefits and sustainable nature of Koji protein, what diets are possible to keep our earth healthy and much, much more!!!

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Pioneering Sustainable Plant-Based Protein With Koji

Our guest is Takashi Sato who is the 8th generation family member of Sanjirushi Jozo in Mie Prefecture and the president of San-J International https://san-j.com/ in the state of Virginia. 

 

Sanjirushi Jozo has been making soy sauce and miso since 1804, and in 1978, the company decided to expand its business to the U.S. Now, San-J is one of the most familiar soy sauce brands in the U.S. and its products are distributed through online and notable retailers, including Whole Foods Market. Takashi joined us in Episode 297 in May 2023 and talked about various topics, such as how the company managed to expand in the U.S. market and its unique, natural, gluten-free products.

 

Takashi is back on the show to discuss fermentation. Fermentation has been one of the keywords in the culinary world and among consumers globally these days. In 2023, the global fermented food market was valued at $578 billion and is expected to grow further, according to research.

 

In this episode, we will discuss why fermentation is gaining so much attention these days, why fermented food is valuable to our society overall, the tours that Takashi organizes to visit producers of traditional Japanese fermented products and much, much more!!! 

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Inspiring The World With Japanese Fermentation Culture And Traditions

https://yamatozakura.com/ 

https://www.thespiritofjapan.com/

 

Our guests are Stephen Lyman and Joseph Overbey who have produced the documentary The Spirit of Japan. It is the story of the Wakamatsu family, who have been making the traditional Japanese distilled spirit, shochu, at their Yamatozakura Distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture since the 1850s.

 

The duo follows the life of Yamatozakura’s 5th generation toji/master distiller Tekkan Wakamatsu and how the distillery’s tradition is being passed down from the 4th generation toji and Tekkan’s father Kazunari Wakamatsu. 

 

The film is beautifully shot and captures many aspects of Tekkan’s career, life with his family and the shochu industry. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Joseph and Stephen got involved in Yamatozakura Distillery, what they want to communicate to the audience through the film, gifts and challenges of succeeding a traditional family business, what is happening with the Japanese shochu industry right now and much, much more!!!

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The Spirit of Japan: Passing Down The Tradition Of Shochu In The Modern Era

Our guest is Kyle Connaughton, who is the chef/owner of SingleThread https://singlethreadfarms.com/ in California. SingleThread is a very unique farm, restaurant, and inn, which has earned numerous accolades since its opening in 2016, including three Michelin stars, three Michelin keys and a Michelin Green Star, which recognizes the outstanding sustainability at the farm managed by Kyle’s wife and co-owner Katina Connaughton. 

 

Kyle began his culinary career in L.A. with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city, followed by training at top restaurants, such as Spago Beverly Hills, The Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton and A.O.C. Then he moved to Japan and cooked for the famed French chef Michel Bras, as well as at traditional Japanese restaurants. On top of these diverse experiences, he also worked at the highly innovative restaurant The Fat Duck in the U.K. as the Head Chef of Research & Development. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Kyle fell in love with Japanese cuisine at a very young age, how his global experiences formed his unique culinary philosophy and style, the fascinating concept of SingleThread, the idea of Omotenashi that Kyle highly values and much, much more!!!

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SingleThread: Weaving Japanese And Californian Ethos Together

Our guest is Takahiro Sakaeda who is the chef/partner of Nami Nori https://www.naminori.us/. Nami Nori is a unique concept of temaki sushi bar that serves open-style hand rolls on a U-shaped stand. Since its opening in 2019 in New York, Taka has created many fans of his beautifully made, casual and high-quality sushi. Now he operates four locations of Nami Nori in New York, New Jersey and Miami.

 

But his success didn’t come easily. Taka spent 10 years at Masa, one of the best sushi restaurants in the U.S. with three Michelin stars and acquired an authentic mindset and sushi-making techniques under the master chef Masayoshi Takayama.

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Taka grew up in the U.S. under Japanese parents and got into cooking against their will, what he learned from the master chef Masa Takayama, the unique concept of Nami Nori, his original culinary vision that merges two cultures of Japan and the U.S., his new 10 counter-seat restaurant in Miami and Japanese bakery in New York and much, much more!!!

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From Masa To Nami Nori: A Culinary Journey of Chef Taka Sakaeda

Our guest is Takumi Kuwabara who is the toji or brewmaster at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon.

 

SakéOne (https://www.sakeone.com/) is a unique sake brewery. It was founded in 1992 by Momokawa Brewing in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, which was founded in 1889. SakéOne started sake-brewing in 1997 and since then, its sake has won multiple awards at prestigious competitions like the U.S. National Sake Appraisal and the San Francisco International Wine Competition. And of course, a big part of its success has come from Takumi’s craftsmanship.

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Takumi studied sake in Japan and also in the U.S. after he arrived in the country in 2004, the unique terroir Oregon offers to make high-quality sake, challenges in making sake outside of Japan, how he sees the past and future of the American sake market and much, much more!!!

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A Japanese Toji Dedicated to Making Sake In America For Over 20 Years

Our guests today are JT Vuong and George Padilla, the executive chef and the co-founding partner of Rule of Thirds in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in New York. George and JT met at Okonomi, a charming Japanese restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and after working for several years together, they opened Rule of Thirds in February 2020 – what a timing! It was a month before the outbreak of COVID-19. 

But the duo managed to get through the challenges in the pandemic and luckily we can now discover their great new restaurant in person. 

In this episode, we will discuss how George and GT got into Japanese food, their ideas of Japanese food culture, how they communicate the ideas at Rule of Thirds through outstanding hospitality and unique dishes, creative programs they offer to enjoy Japanese flavors and much, much more!!!

Image courtesy of Eric Medsker.

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Rule of Thirds

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