Why is vegan shōjin ryōri cuisine so deeply compelling?
Japan's vegan temple food, shōjin ryōri, is rooted in hundreds of years of tradition. What keeps the practice alive and relevant today?
Plant-based cuisine: Modernizing Japan's vegetarian traditions
From vegan and vegetarian to organic and superfood, plant-based cooking concepts are rooted in how Japanese people have approached eating for centuries.
Eating a way through the Nakasendo's lower Kiso Road
The Nakasendo was an Edo Period (1603-1868) road used for travel between the capital of Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto, the former capital. The 69 post towns along the way provided accommodation and services to daimyo and their entourages, who passed through on their sankin ...
Sougo: A next-generation take on temple cooking
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 ...
Ajiro: Vegetarian 'shojin ryori' in a Buddhist temple complex
I ate my lunch at Ajiro in the company of a bewildered farmer with a comical Donald Trump-like mop of hair. But looks were the least of his concern; rather it was a bull that had got the better of him, escaping from the ...
Shōjin ryōri chefs offer vegetarian cooking classes in English
I had to do a double take when I arrived for my lesson with Tokyo Cook, a company offering Japanese cooking classes in English that launched in March. Although the website mentions that the kitchen studio is "hidden inside the newly opened restaurant Sougo" ...
Buddhist dining in unexpected places
I've been aware of shōjin ryōri (traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) for some time. I've had in my mind the image of a Buddhist practitioner painstakingly preparing the seasonal vegetarian dishes, mindful of each ingredient. And from time to time I have vaguely recalled that ...
The simple but profound flavors of Buddhist temple cooking
Hidden away in the quiet backstreets of Azabu-Juban, Itosho is a self-effacing little restaurant that has been serving shojin ryori (Buddhist temple cuisine) for 40 years, remaining — until recently at any rate — one of the city's better kept secrets. But even now, with ...
Zen is austere and meditative. It is the practice of ascetic self-denial on the path to serenity and satori. It is the cult of monochrome and minimalism. Above all, it is serious -- and so is its food, the vegetarian tradition known as shojin ...
Reflections on Buddhist soul food
I have always believed cooking is more religion than art. We expect our artists to entertain us and elicit emotion. What we ask most of all of our chefs and our spiritual leaders, however, is that they soothe us. When we think of really good ...
