Kusogui Nakahigashi and Chizuru Ohara Special Talk "Kyoto's Food Culture: Encounter of Japanese and Western Cultures

• Date: Sunday, September 28, 2025
• Time: Registration 12:30 Lecture 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Terrace Coral, 1F, New Wing
• Ticket: ¥2,500 in advance, ¥3,000 at the door
  　　　　　The above includes admission ticket and drink voucher (￥1,000) for the Art Festival Mariage event.

• *No guests under 12 years old are allowed.

Rethinking Kyoto's Food Culture

• From the perspectives of two experts in Kyoto's Japanese food culture, they will talk about the changes in Kyoto's food culture and the fusion of Japanese and Western cuisine.
  In recent years, "Japanese meets Western" has become more and more widespread with the pairing of Japanese food and wine, French food and sake, and a new type of confectionery called neo-wagashi. Hisao Nakahigashi, who upholds the philosophy of "Kusokui," or "grass-eating," which makes the most of nature's bounty, and Chizuru Ohara, who has brought Kyoto's unique aesthetic sense to everyday dining through her home cooking. We hope you will enjoy their diverse talks on their paths, their views on cooking, the wisdom passed down in Kyoto, the joy of combining Japanese and Western cooking, and the ingenuity that can be applied to your daily cooking.

Finger foods specially prepared by the couple

• At the marriage event held on the same day, the two guests were asked to create special "ates (finger foods)" incorporating Japanese ingredients and cooking methods to accompany the three types of drinks.
  What combination will appear on the day of the event will be a surprise.
  In the dialogue, you may hear episodes that can only be heard here, such as the thoughts and ingenuity that went into the combination of the two.
  Before and after the conversation, you will be able to enjoy a marriage of drinks and "finger foods" created by the two guests. We hope you will enjoy an even richer time.
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Profile of Performers

• ＜Hisao Nakahigashi, owner of Sojiki Nakahigashi＞
  Born in Miyamasou, a ryokan (Japanese inn) in Hanase, Kyoto. He was in charge of cooking under his elder brother Kichiji, who invented the Tsumikusa (Seasonal Foraged & Field Vegetables) cuisine. Later, after serving as head chef, he became independent in 1997 when he opened "Sojiki Nakahigashi," a famous Kyoto cuisine restaurant. The owner himself goes out into the fields and mountains to capture the beauty of nature, and his cuisine, which draws out the best of the day's ingredients, attracts gourmets from all over the country.
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• ＜Culinary expert Chizuru Ohara＞
  Born as the second daughter of "Miyamasou," a ryokan (Japanese inn) in Hanase, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. From an early age, she developed her knowledge of Japanese cuisine and a sense of beauty while being familiar with nature in the satoyama area. As the mother of two sons and a daughter, she has developed a reputation for her homely and beautiful cooking. Today, she is active as a cookery researcher, appearing in magazines and on TV, giving cooking classes, lecturing, writing essays, advising on product development, and supervising cooking for commercials and TV dramas. She was awarded the 3rd Kyoto Japanese Food Culture Award, and contributes to the transmission of Kyoto's Japanese food culture by communicating real-life authentic Kyoto home cooking in a way that is familiar to society at large.