Kaiseki

At the tea ceremony, the meals used plenty of seasonable ingredients are usually prepared by the host. These minimalist dishes are called kaiseki ryori. According to the episode that Buddhist priest put the warm stone (seki) in his sleeve to forget his empty stomach (kai) while meditating, this started to be called as 懐石(Kaiseki), then later this Chinese character for Kaiseki changed to会席(Kaiseki-meaning of the meeting）. The tea master Sen Rikyu expressed "Wabi" (simple and quit taste) in his Kaiseki ryori to keep them simple -one soup and two dishes- as possible. Typical Kaiseki in today, starts with a small portion of rice, miso soup and sashimi. Then vegetable dish, baked dishes(often seafood)and soup are served one after another. Also a plate of seasonal fish or vegetable dishes are served on the plate made of wood called Hasun. When those dishes are served, the host are coming around to the each guest's table and serve sake to each one of them to show his appreciation. At last, "kogashi"(baked rice with soup) and pickles are served as a closure of the meal. Kaiseki is playing important role of Japanese tea ceremony. And it is one of the enjoyments for the people going to the tea ceremony.

(Nobuyoshi Mochizuki)