Chef Maruyama is highly acclaimed for his treatment of seasonal ingredients and careful attention to each party. His tableside chargrilling leaves guests salivating from the tantalizing sounds and smells. Spring brings bamboo shoots and longtooth grouper fish pregnant with eggs; summer means hamo pike conger and ayu sweetfish; autumn offers the chance to savor sweetfish with eggs and heady matsutake mushrooms, while winter is about the delicacies of matsubagani snow crab and fugu pufferfish.

“Kyoto cuisine is a comprehensive art that appeals to all five senses”, says Maruyama, who describes those senses as rhythm, light, sound, aroma and flavor. His masterpieces bring out the ultimate in flavor in Kyoto’s seasonal produce and skillfully navigate the spectrum of guest occasions – from everyday to celebratory – while also focusing on seasonal events and rituals in the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar.

Kyoto is home to three major annual celebrations: Aoi Matsuri, Gion Matsuri and Jidai Matsuri. The May 15 Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Festival, is an enormous procession of people dressed in Heian Period (794-1185) aristocratic costumes. Maruyama’s platter at this time of year is filled with celebratory motifs such as gold and silver tied threads, folded paper in the distinctive shape of a samurai helmet, and a dish wrapped in an oak leaf. Some of the ingredients such as sushi of sea bream, with its Japanese name a play on the word for congratulations, are found in other joyous celebrations, and others are unique to this time of year with its prayers for the sound health of children around Children’s Day. The charming taro bud cooked in its skin topped with ikura salmon roe and slippery smooth texture of junsai watershield plant are just some of the wonderful ingredients that take you on a journey through this specific season.

A summer mukozuke course may be served on a stunning lacquered tray – a favorite of the chef’s by Hyosaku Suzuki, an early 20th century lacquer master who was based in Kyoto. The chef’s tableware collection is exquisite and includes countless antique dishes and drinking vessels of Kutani ware, celadon porcelain, and blue and white ceramics, and bearing the names of some of Japan’s most famous artists. A fish-shaped ceramic dish is filled with red rockfish, kuruma prawn and oval squid, accompanied by Tosa soy sauce, a dab of wasabi and refreshing ponzu. So much time and effort has gone into preparation of the perilla leaf, seaweed, curled carrot and daikon that form the delicate details on top, expressing the chef’s desire to give his guests the best.

Early summer in Japan brings with it cooling ingredients and bountiful, bulbous hydrangea flowers. The chef makes the season known with a gorgeous platter highlighting those brilliant colors. Young sea bream is fashioned into sushi between sudachi citrus rounds, shark’s fin in gelée is topped with a single fava bean, and cute simmered taro buds come together with a savory prawn and a touch of yuzu. In a playful touch, the chef accompanies this course with a glass bottle containing lightly vinegared okra and junsai watershield plant, to be opened and discovered by the guests themselves.

The chef’s pursuit of the authentic shines through the culture, traditions and cuisine of Maruyama. Elements from tea ceremony run deep, and because that world is so complex and interwoven, even a seasoned Japanophile with an excellent cultural dictionary in hand may have trouble deciphering Maruyama’s intricate menu. But there is no need to be overwhelmed, because the key is in appreciating the moment, letting yourself absorb the generous hospitality, and savoring the deliciously authentic flavors.

INGREDIENTS
Seafood comes direct from the waters of the Japan Sea and Awajishima – an island situated in the Seto Inland Sea. Kyoto vegetables are central to many of the dishes, with others incorporated to accentuate the season, and all dishes are flavored delicately with premium seasonings made by artisans around Japan. Any further details on this theme are very closely guarded.