Kyoyasai Sumaya, a Delicious Kitchen Straight from a Kyoto Mother

"Kyoyasai cuisine isn't just about kaiseki. Obanzai is the everyday food we actually eat!" says Chef Fujita Hiroko of the cooking classroom "Kyoyasai Sumaya" (Kyoryori Sumaya).

 

Obanzai, Kyoto-style home cooking, has become a term specific to Japanese cuisine, highlighting its uniqueness as part of Kyoto culture. "In other places, side dishes are called okazu, but only people in Kyoto call them obanzai. Especially because the media keeps introducing it this way, now when people hear ‘obanzai,’ they automatically think of Kyoto home cooking. Actually, 'ban' comes from 'ban,' as in 'bancha' (everyday tea), so daily dishes naturally became known as 'banzai' (everyday dishes)," explains Chef Fujita.

Although it’s home cooking, every household has its own story. Generally speaking, though, it follows the local climate, culture, and lifestyle, giving it unique characteristics in ingredients, flavors, and preparation. So what exactly are these delicious flavors that permeate daily life in Kyoto?

 

It can be understood from three perspectives: First, the geographical environment. Kyoto isn’t by the sea, so most fish and shellfish come from freshwater, and seafood is often dried. Aside from river fish like sweetfish and crucian carp, seafood such as mackerel is salted, herring is made into dried fish, and kelp and bonito are used to make dashi (broth), which is widely used. Secondly, Kyoto is a basin, so the four seasons are more distinct. This has led to the development of many preserved foods to keep out-of-season vegetables fresh. Kyoto vegetables are outstanding in taste and flavor, but a good Kyoto mother knows how to skillfully use fresh vegetables along with meat, vegetables, and dried goods to cook up delicious meals—that’s what it means to be good at managing a household.

The second aspect is culture. Kyoto was once Japan’s political, economic, and religious center. Alongside Buddhism, shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) developed, and subtly flavored tofu and yuba (tofu skin) also became part of everyday meals. Coupled with the daily practice of gratitude for one’s surroundings, Kyoto home cooking is filled with the wisdom of turning the ordinary into something delicious through simple ingenuity.

 

The third is seasonality. Eating seasonally isn’t just about being refined—it’s also about the principle of food as medicine. Eating what’s in season isn’t just about chasing flavor; seasonal ingredients also have the highest nutritional value. For the people of Kyoto, where seasonal changes are quite dramatic, this is undoubtedly the most natural way to maintain health.

 

At Sumaya’s obanzai cooking classes, you can explore not only the development of Kyoto flavors but also the core of the unique flavors of kyoyasai, the origin of kyoyasai cuisine. "Obanzai is the foundation of kyoyasai cuisine. Dashi is the life of cooking—all seasonings depend on dashi, and the use of dashi, as well as the selection of various ingredients and flavors in obanzai, greatly influences all kinds of Kyoto cuisine," says Chef Fujita. Chef Fujita was originally the fourth-generation successor of "Kyoyasai Sumaya," a Kyoto restaurant with over 70 years of history and the official caterer for Kotokuji Temple. Since female chefs are still a rarity in Japan’s traditional culinary world, Chef Fujita was reluctant to see the flavors of the old shop change under other chefs and decided to close it down. But she couldn’t bear to let such good flavors be forgotten, so with the goal of “communicating the unique charm of kyoyasai and even Japanese cuisine,” she started the obanzai cooking class. Who better than Chef Fujita—who honed her skills at a famous kyoyasai restaurant and teaches the origins of kyoyasai—to understand what true Kyoto flavor is?

Today, Chef Fujita will take us through essential dishes that every Kyoto mother knows how to make: a small bowl dish called "Tofu Mashed with Five Colors," made with finely chopped king oyster mushrooms, carrots, lotus root, cucumber, and fried tofu skin, simmered until flavorful, drained, and then mixed with mashed cotton tofu, sesame, and light soy sauce; a side dish called "Yuzu-Flavored Spinach and King Oyster Mushrooms," made by boiling spinach, letting it cool, draining it, steaming king oyster mushrooms with sake, mixing them, and then blending with dashi, soy sauce, miso, yuzu peel, and juice; a main dish called "Simmered Daikon Radish with Goby Fish," seasoned with soy sauce and sugar; paired with multigrain rice and miso soup, this makes up the basics of washoku—“one soup, three dishes.” The so-called “one soup, three dishes” consists of “one soup,” typically miso soup, and “three dishes,” which include one main dish and two side dishes. The main dish is mainly fish or other meats, while the side dishes are often centered around vegetables, and frequently include pickles or other preserved items in small bowls. This custom originally came from the Zen temple tradition of “one soup, one dish” during the Kamakura period, focusing on simplicity. It evolved into “one soup, three dishes” to accommodate guests, and gradually became the foundation of traditional Japanese family meals. Even kaiseki and course meals expanded from the concept of one soup, three dishes. This experience class isn’t just about learning to cook Kyoto home-style food, but also offers a glimpse into the life of a traditional Japanese household.