It's a dilemma faced by all practitioners of traditional arts and crafts. To keep their heritage alive, should they rigorously adhere to time-honored practices? Or bend a few rules and innovate? Chef Daisuke Nomura chose the second route. Sougo, his excellent restaurant in the heart of Roppongi, is the result.
Nomura was born into a family of chefs whose expertise is in shōjin ryōri, the vegetarian temple cooking that traces its roots back to the Zen Buddhist masters of the 13th century. The restaurant that his grandfather founded, Daigo, remains the preeminent place in Tokyo for shōjin meals served in the elaborate, multi-course Kyoto style.
But Nomura soon realized that with interest in shōjin cuisine dwindling, high-end dining was not the best platform to reach out to a new generation of Japanese diners who are increasingly sophisticated and internationalized.