Towards the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of Kitcho

With the start of cherry blossom season and the pleasant spring weather, we are finally free from wearing masks and have now returned to a life without restrictions. Since last year, we have gradually been able to hold events and tea ceremonies, as well as attend get-togethers, and our restaurants are now able to welcome visitors from overseas.

We now would like to actively engage in a variety of activities, such as visiting our growers and resuming activities for local revitalization, further improving our communities, and developing products for the Sixth Industry. Our kitchens receive daily deliveries of various types of primary products, so there are many locations we want and need to visit, including production sites and municipalities.

In March, the renovation of our “Taikotei” tatami room at the Arashiyama headquarters was completed, and the new room features ceiling paintings by Maestro Rieko Morita. This room is located in a shoin-zukuri-style building, which was first constructed in the first year of the Meiji era (1868) and moved to Arashiyama 60 years ago, and have been carefully decorated in every detail. For this so-called “Taikotei Renovation Project,” we conducted a crowdfunding campaign to tell people about and allow them to experience the work of the artisans who preserve and pass down Japanese culture. Fortunately, we have had many people provide sympathy and support for this project, so we would like to extend our deepest gratitude. We are now accepting reservations for the unveiling dinner party and room assignments, so we hope you will visit us in Arashiyama.

For the past two years, I have been asked to give special lectures for students from Ritsumeikan University’s College of Gastronomy Management, where I conduct fieldwork together at production sites and do research on taste. This year, our goal is to bring together students, primary industry workers, municipalities, university professors, scientists, and others to identify issues, connect with various companies, and coordinate efforts to solve these problems.

Furthermore, deep within Arashiyama, there is a piece of land in Kiyotaki owned by Kyoto Kitcho called “Kitcho Mountain,” and talks are moving forward regarding its development. Famous for its autumn foliage, Kitcho Mountain has beautiful thick forests and clear streams, and in June it is filled with fireflies. There is a tea room that was inherited from Konosuke Matsushita, where Yuki Teiichi used to hold tea ceremonies and dinner parties. However, recently, it has not been used at all and we have been searching for ways to use it. That’s when we received a proposal for a joint development plan to move forward together. We have been dreaming of building a new facility where visitors can not only enjoy fine cuisine, but also stay overnight. We have also received inquiries about other public projects, such as IR development being planned in various locations, development projects for urban areas, inbound and outbound promotion by the Tourism Agency in various areas, and assistance with international art fairs. We will do our best to be of help, even if it is just a small contribution.

In 2030, I will be 70 years old. By that time, as I have been saying for the past 10 years, it may become possible to convert seawater to fresh water, AI may enable natural cultivation, as well as mix high-performance air conditioners and chloroplasts in high-rise buildings so that the buildings can act as trees, purify the water, and have cities function as a kind of forest. I want our world to not only become more convenient, but also healthier, and for us to support each other.

And it’s not that we still have seven years until 2030; rather, there are only seven years left. “The mission of Kyoto Kitcho is the ‘creation of Japanese culture’; thus, our goal is to be needed by people around the world and in the future,” and in order to realize this, we would like to try various things this year and achieve new discoveries and accomplishments.

We are starting the new year with renewed determination, and will continue to work hard to meet your expectations.

On behalf of everyone at Kyoto Kitcho, thank you for your continued patronage.

March 2023