Kunio Tokuoka is owner and executive chef of Kyoto Kitcho, one of Japan’s revered kaiseki restaurants with six locations and a total of six Michelin stars. Three of those stars were given to his flagship restaurant in Arashiyama, where he works.

Tokuoka is the third generation to run Kitcho, founded by his grandfather and handed down to him by his father. He is renowned internationally — he’s cooked at the Beard House in New York; in Turin, Italy, for Slow Food International’s Salone del Gusto; at the Umami Summit in London; and at the Madrid Fusion-International Summit alongside such luminaries as Ferran Adria.

The chef will be in Hawaii to present a seven-course kaiseki dinner with chef Alan Wong at 53 by the Sea on Feb. 9 and 10.

In an email exchange the chef shared his thoughts about kaiseki, a traditional, seasonal multicourse meal that appeals to the eye as well as the palate. Dishware, for instance, is an important part of the dinner, and at Kitcho in Arashiyama the cuisine is sometimes presented on plateware 400 years old (in Hawaii he will use dishes from 53 by the Sea).

“Learning about the history and the artists of each plate as you enjoy the course enhances the deepness of the experience and helps to develop new senses and feelings,” he wrote.

But kaiseki goes deeper than food and aesthetics, as the chef explains:

Question: Does your family’s restaurant have a specific approach to kaiseki?

Answer: The original kaiseki is a course served during a formal gathering of sado (tea ceremony). It is different than what we are actually serving in our restaurants. The cuisine we serve is what our Kitcho founder, my grandfather Yuki Teiichi, developed based on the lessons of kaiseki and the changing environments throughout time. This is what we now call Kitcho Ryori cuisine. The characteristic of Kitcho Ryori is that it is adaptable to the occasion.

Chaji (tea ceremony gathering) began over 400 years ago. It is said that during the age of the provincial wars, (warlord) Hideyoshi Toyotomi and (philosopher) Sen no Rikyu started the chaji. They wanted these ceremonies to be a place where the host and the guests can confirm and strengthen their trust for each other.

During chaji one of the main objectives is sharing valuable matcha (green tea). But before enjoying matcha, in order to enhance the experience of matcha, a light, simple kaiseki meal was served to the guests. Kaiseki was considered a humble meal, as the kanji characters means “inside pocket” (“kai”) and “stone” (“seki”), referring to monks curbing their hunger by putting sun-warmed stones into their robes near their stomach.

Now the dishes have become more and more elaborate, but the core idea is still the same. All of the elements selected for the kaiseki function to express trust and respect for the guests, including the historical dishware, the hanging scrolls and the specific decor that fit the purpose of the gathering. The host uses all methods to express their hospitality, and the guests show attention and appreciation to fully understand the hospitality given to them.

Also, kaiseki is generally known to use seasonal ingredients and to serve on antique dishware — but that is just one expression of kaiseki. Just because you use the best seasonal ingredients, that is not kaiseki. Or just because you use expensive antique dishes, that does not make it kaiseki. The host and guest have to be able to equally communicate their sentiments and develop a relationship.

Q.: Kaiseki is traditional. How does the contemporary fit in?

A.: Throughout generations there are meals between hosts and guests that are prepared around thoughtfulness and relationship-building. So I do believe that the core of kaiseki is being reflected. Of course, over the 400 years the current form is a very different expression, but the most important idea around kaiseki is still strong.

Q.: When you cook in Hawaii, will you provide a taste of seasonal food in Japan, or will you be using Hawaii ingredients to translate your vision and approach for this Hawaii-specific audience?

A.: I can understand that some customers may be expecting us to provide seasonal dishes from Japan, but it will be difficult to re-create the same dishes here as I do in Japan, considering the different environment, ingredients and dishware.

This is my second time visiting Hawaii, and I am personally not very familiar with the various natural produce and ingredients. But I am fortunate to be able to work with chef Alan Wong, who is helping me learn about Hawaii, so that together with my past experience and the wonderful ingredients of Hawaii, I hope to be able to create a menu that will be memorable and unique to Hawaii.

As is true with traditional chaji, it is difficult to develop a deep relationship with just one gathering. But I hope that this event will be the first of a long relationship that I can build with the people of Hawaii.