Vol. 8 Japanese Restaurant Nihonbashi Yukari

2016.09.27

Passing in and out of the Imperial Household Agency over three generations—culinary skills handed down from grandfather, to son, to grandson

Japanese Restaurant Nihonbashi Yukari was established in Nihonbashi in 1935. On display inside the restaurant are three certificates bearing the chrysanthemum emblem of the Imperial Household. The oldest of these was bestowed on the restaurant’s first proprietor, Kisaburo Nonaga, in 1959 by the Chief Chef of the Imperial Household Agency, Tokuzo Akiyama, for his services in preparing dishes for the wedding banquet for the then-Crown Prince (now His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus). The second certificate was bestowed on the restaurant’s second-generation proprietor, Kiichiro Nonaga, in 1990 for his culinary services on the occasion of the Emperor’s Enthronement Ceremony, and the third certificate was bestowed on the restaurant’s third-generation proprietor, Kimio Nonaga, in 1993 for his services in preparing dishes for the wedding banquet for His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito.

 

As these three certificates indicate, Nihonbashi Yukari is a distinguished restaurant business that has been allowed to pass in and out of the Imperial Household Agency over three generations. Through the connections made when the Kisaburo prepared food at the Imperial Household Agency through Yorozuya Chorikai, the restaurant has continued to serve the Imperial Household Agency through Kiichiro’s and Kimio’s generations.
Kiichiro has been serving the Imperial Household Agency for more than 10 years. He says: “We serve every year for the Niiname-sai Festival (harvest festival solemnized by the Emperor), spring and autumn garden parties, and end-of-year events. We assist with the food preparation in strict accordance with the Imperial Household Agency’s conventions. In particular, the Dawn Ceremony and Evening Ceremony, which is conducted entirely by the light of candles and bonfires of continuously burning wood, are divine and quiet—indescribably wonderful.”

 

  • Kiichiro Nonaga, the second-generation proprietor of Nihonbashi Yukari

  • The three certificates displayed inside the restaurant

Switching from high-end Japanese restaurant to counter kappo-style restaurant

Nihonbashi Yukari began as a small 33 m2 casual eatery established by the first proprietor, Kisaburo, and his wife and grew from there. Moving the restaurant to its present location in 1951, Kisaburo reinvented and greatly expanded it as a high-end Japanese-style restaurant with around 20 in-house geisha performers and himself as chef. The second-generation proprietor, Kiichiro, trained at a kappo (Japanese haute cuisine) restaurant in Osaka and a hotel in Atami designed by renowned architect Kenzo Tange. Returning to Nihonbashi Yukari, he proposed to his father that the future would be a time for chefs to face their customers, and the restaurant was changed to a counter kappo style where the chef cooks in front of customers. This was in the mid-1960s, and this restaurant concept was ahead of the times.

 

Kiichiro also pours effort into popularizing Edo-Tokyo vegetables. Having developed an interest in Edo’s traditional vegetables, he became involved in the launch of the Nihonbashi Edo-Tokyo Vegetable Project in 2009 as a result of meeting Michishige Otake, who had been advocating for the revival of Edo-Tokyo vegetables since 1989. More than 20 restaurants in the Nihonbashi area are now cultivating their own Edo-Tokyo vegetables. Last year the project entered its seventh year, and Kiichiro also grew Terajima eggplants, golden oriental melons, and various other vegetables.

Kiichiro says: “I enjoy using my hands and growing things.” In his youth he painted in oils and was also a keen potter and was highly skilled at both these arts. Ceramics he fired at the Kamakura Shiunjugama and Sagamiko Toyusha kilns are even used in the restaurant. Kiichiro’s works have also been exhibited in art galleries in New York.

Says Kiichiro with a smile: “I get immense pleasure from thinking about what kinds of dishes to serve on the plates and in the bowls that I have made myself.”

  • Ceramics made by Kiichiro are also used in the restaurant. (Photograph courtesy of Nihonbashi Yukari)

  • Kiichiro Nonaga holding Edo-Tokyo vegetables that he and his family grew on the roof of his house. (Photograph courtesy of Nihonbashi Yukari)

Kiichiro is also a long-standing participant in Nihonbashi Kuramakai, an event where the proprietors and hostesses of restaurants in Nihonbashi and Ningyocho put on shows.

He explains: “This area used to be an entertainment district, and there were many masters of performing arts around here. My father performed as a shinnai strolling musician, and I perform kouta (traditional ballads accompanied by shamisen). I would like the younger generations to participate as well.”

A wonderful aspect of Nihonbashi is that here there are many long-established restaurants where performing arts and festivals are being properly passed onto the next generation as hobbies of the restaurant proprietors and hostesses in addition to the restaurants’ regular business. This is certainly the case for Nihonbashi Yukari.

 

While young master Kimio has never been told to carry on the family restaurant business, he proactively spent time in the kitchen from an early age. After training at the long-established Kikukoi restaurant in Kyoto, Kimio injected a breath of fresh air into the taste of Edo’s long-established restaurants. Today, he continues to draw attention both in Japan and overseas, preparing kaiseki course cuisine at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as well as representing Japan at Expo 2015 Milano.

 

Kiichiro’s wife is the restaurant’s senior hostess, while Kimio’s wife is its young hostess.
Says Kiichiro: “The hostesses are amazing how they quickly remember customers’ faces and make them feel comfortable. I take my hat off to them. A family rule that my father left us is that we can never let go of the knife. Moving forward, our entire family hopes to continue working in the restaurant and bring joy to our customers through our food and hospitality.”

  • Nihonbashi Kuramakai is an event where the proprietors and hostesses of restaurants in Nihonbashi and Ningyocho put on shows (Photograph courtesy of Nihonbashi Yukari)

  • Senior hostess Mizue Nonaga

Nihonbashi Yukari
Address: 3-2-14 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3271-3436
Business hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (LO 1:30 p.m.); 5 to 10 p.m. (LO 9:30 p.m.)
Regular holidays: Sundays and public holidays
Website: http://nihonbashi-yukari.com/

 

Text: Yuko Kanamaru, Photograph: Shigeki Watanabe
Reprinted from Tokyo-jin July 2016 extra edition