Contemporary Kyoto Culture, for posterity
Special Award (Asia) winner at the 2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, introducing the art of Cha-kaiseki cuisine at Kyoto Nanzenji Hyotei

This art book introduces the refined cuisine of Kyoto Hyotei, a paragon of Kyoto cuisine, as an all-encompassing art form based on the Zen principle of wakeiseijaku (harmony, respect, purity and tranquility). Showcasing their fine-arts tableware and meticulously arranged seasonal installations, this luxurious publication stimulates all the five senses.

KYOTO CENTURY ISSUE 1 is co-created by THE KYOTO, a website that promotes Kyoto culture globally under the tagline "understand culture, change the world", and PURPLE, an art community space managed by the established art and photography book publisher AKAAKA and the founder of the renowned Seigensha Art Publishing firm. It serves as a record of contemporary Kyoto culture which both preserves and transforms tradition for the benefit of future generations. The book not only documents the full course of Hyotei's Cha-kaiseki with exquisite photographs, but also contains rare samples of ingredients, culinary tools and raw materials that the reader can touch and smell. Only a hundred copies of KYOTO CENTURY ISSUE 1 have been printed.

The book also presents a pair of authentic meimeizara (small plates) made specially by the renowned potter Koun Miyagawa at Ryukokugama (Ryukoku Kiln) and painted by Eiichi Takahashi, the 14th-generation head of Hyotei, under the supervision of the 15th-generation head, Yoshihiro Takahashi.

The cover of KYOTO CENTURY ISSUE 1 uses Awa-washi Japanese paper, hinting at the traditional mud walls of Hyotei's Sukiya-zukuri property that was built in 1882. The paper is made from the same material as the walls—Juraku-tsuchi, earth from Kyoto's Nishijin district, and rice straw. The traditional architectural techniques and aesthetics of Kyoto shine just as brightly in bookbinding.

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KYOTO CENTURY ISSUE 1, reclaiming the value of printing in the digital era

About 450 years ago, Kyoto Nanzenji Hyotei started out as a tea house at the gate of Nanzenji temple. The main branch still stands at the same location along with a small tea house called "Kuzuya" at the end of a serene stone pavement, preserving the Edo-period ambience from its founding. Hyotei's iconic soft-boiled egg, known as Hyotei-tamago, has delighted guests for centuries and is even mentioned in the guidebook Karaku Meishozue (1862): "Hyotei's exquisite boiled egg is such a rare find that every single guest joyfully savors it." Although Hyotei respectfully observes Cha-kaiseki tradition, they have remained flexible and adapted it continuously to keep up with the times.

The print industry too is facing the test of time. While society becomes more and more paperless and consumers demand constant information updates, we need to rethink the raison d'etre of paper publications. A printed book has texture and smell; it appeals to our senses and can last for hundreds, even thousands of years if printed on high quality paper. KYOTO CENTURY is our attempt to capture and convey the ultimate value of book printing.

We hope that it justly conveys the elegance of Hyotei, which has survived difficult times by respectfully following and yet innovating tradition.

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