Chef Mishima Tatsuki's culinary journey starts in an odd place: mechanical engineering. Filled with a love for creation from a young age, moving into a culinary career was the natural way for him to merge his dual loves for design and food.   

While he only started at 26 — comparatively late by most chefs’ standards — this did little to discourage him. He threw himself into training in his native Shimane, before moving to Tsurumi, Yokohama in 2016 to open the restaurant Kakuju to wide critical acclaim. His newest brainchild, Higashiyama Muku, was set up in Nakameguro just seven years later.  

The word “muku”, derived from a Zen saying meaning “simplicity”, describes both his culinary and architectural approach. With a counter made from a single slab of wood, the restaurant interior is made as monochromatic as possible, and is devoid of background music or other auditory and visual distractions. This allows guests to appreciate the meal to the fullest extent of their five senses.  

"To deprive them of the ability to do otherwise would be an affront to those who provide the ingredients," he explains. He personally selects his seafood every day from the fishermen in Toyosu Market, and purchases vegetables directly from farms in the surrounding prefectures.   

Planting, harvesting and catching are his endeavors of passion. This is conveyed to his guests, using his mastery of Japanese traditional techniques to prepare the dishes as simply as possible, allowing the natural flavor — and by extension, the love and care that went into them — to be expressed.