“Kyoto cuisine is a comprehensive art that appeals to all five senses”, says Chef Maruyama, who described 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.

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.

In celebration of the new imperial era called Reiwa, Maruyama designed a sakura springtime platter inspired by a Shinto ritual called Kyokusui no Utage (wandering stream banquet) held in the imperial court and in nobles’ homes during the Heian Period (794-1185). This course is an expression of tradition seamlessly interwoven with original touches, highlighting elements of open-air tea ceremony. A red-painted pot sits alongside a golden bamboo sheath filled with small dishes of wild mountain vegetables and lily bulb, a hidden plum, sashimi of sayori (Japanese halfbeak), yuba tofu skin, sea urchin, jellied beef dotted with green peas, baby bamboo and akagai clam in Japanese pepper leaf dressing, baked butterbur buds coated with miso, and more. Accenting the platter is a long bamboo hairpin that functions as a skewer for tomato, avocado and gelled egg yolk vinegar, and also plays a decorative role, adorned with cherry blossom flowers and a special poem.

In late autumn, multiple simmered components are brought together in a single cooling, umami-rich dish called takiawase. Served in a footed bowl with red painted adornment by Dohei Tsuboshima, the colors within are just as stunning, featuring abalone, herring, simmered conger eel, locally grown Kyoto vegetables like carrot and Kamo eggplant, pumpkin, and giant butterbur.

Sankan shion is a dish for the season when spring plays tug-of-war with winter and we experience four days of warmth followed by three days of cold. Wafting with delicious aromas, this gorgeous colorful creation is almost too beautiful to eat. The first bamboo shoots of the season are presented with kinome Japanese pepper leaf buds two ways: on one side topped with ice goby fish, carrot, and asparagus; on the other, with firefly squid and rapeseed blossoms.

The chef’s pursuit of the authentic shines in 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 service, 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.