About Founder
Interview with Founder of Towzen Kyoto -
Mr Minoru Yonekawa
1.
Q: Mr. Yonekawa, could you please introduce yourself and share the history and background of Towzen Ramen? (hereafter referred to as Towzen)
A: My name is Minoru Yonekawa, 52 years old. I have a long career in the food and beverage industry, with experience as a waiter in a French restaurant, in a sushi chain, and as a bartender at a historic Kyoto bar. Later, I became the head chef at a tofu hot pot restaurant in Kyoto for ten years, where I also taught the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). I now run what is believed to be Japan’s longest-standing vegan ramen restaurant, leveraging my rich experience in the culinary industry and my understanding of traditional Japanese culture to offer customers a unique dining experience.
During my time as the head chef at the tofu hot pot restaurant, I was the first in Kyoto to incorporate soy milk into tofu hot pot. Our restaurant thus became the birthplace of soymilk tofu hot pot. At the time without a culture of soymilk dishes, we used soy milk to make tofu hot pots for specific reasons:
1.Water (drawn from wells hundreds of meters underground in Kyoto),
2.Rishiri kelp (from the base of 20-meter-long kelp from Rishiri Island, Hokkaido),
3.Tofu (both homemade and purchased. Our tofu is supplied by「豆腐のすがい」 in Shimogamo, Kyoto, made with magnesium chloride as a coagulant).
The tofu hot pot restaurant used only these three ingredients and offered homemade dipping sauces and seasonings. The set menu included sesame tofu, sashimi, namafu dengaku (grilled wheat gluten), other seasonal dishes, rice with pickles, and dessert. The preparation involved simmering the water, kelp, and tofu until just before boiling and then serving the warmed tofu with dipping sauces and seasonings. This simple yet profound way of eating was widespread throughout Japan before the rise of meat-eating culture, and it is said to have originated as the diet of Zen monks before becoming popular among the general populace.
Tofu, made from soybeans, is rich in nutrients and protein content comparable to meat or fish. The tofu hot pot efficiently allows for quick nutrient intake.
When discussing my experience as a head chef, some customers would drink the leftover kelp broth after eating the tofu. While most would leave the kelp and broth behind, some would drink everything, explaining that they didn’t want to waste the essence released from the tofu and kelp.
This insight led to the creation of “soymilk tofu hot pot,” where we added soy milk to the tofu broth, capturing the essence released from the tofu. From then on, we began serving soy milk with the tofu hot pot, recommending customers drink the leftover broth mixed with dipping sauce after eating and drink it. This mixed broth and dipping sauce eventually became the prototype for our staff meals and, ultimately, soymilk ramen.
Our soymilk ramen became popular among the staff, and we conducted extensive research to make it a seasonal limited menu item for the restaurant during the off-season. Over a month, we explored how to make ramen broth with water, stock, and soy milk every day. To determine the best recipe, we changed the staff meals to soymilk ramen. Eventually, we introduced soymilk ramen at the tofu restaurant.
We considered many seasonal menu items in the past, but only soymilk ramen attracted a large number of returning customers and media attention. Feeling the unique charm of this dish, we decided to open a shop specializing in soymilk ramen. It was at this time that I met my wife, we purchased a new home with a shop on the ground floor and residence on the second floor, starting a dual lifestyle of running a soymilk ramen shop at night and working at the tofu hot pot restaurant during the day.
Thus, on July 26, 2004, the soymilk ramen specialty restaurant Towzen quietly opened its doors.
2.
Q: Japanese ramen has a rich and varied history. How has the evolution of ramen influenced the creation of your restaurant’s signature menu, or what influences have you drawn from?
A: My wife is from Hakata, so I was influenced by Hakata ramen. We use thin noodles that cook quickly and have adopted a system unique to Hakata, where customers can add extra noodles. At that time, ramen mainly included pork bone, chicken bone, soy sauce, salt, and miso, with pork bone soy sauce dominating in Kyoto.
Pork bone ramen is made from bones that would otherwise be discarded after the edible meat is removed, and chicken bone broth is made similarly. Zen teachings discourage unnecessary killing, so I thought it would be good if there could be a restaurant where you could eat ramen without killing. Thus, soymilk ramen, which is neither pork bone nor chicken bone, was born.
3.
Q: Towzen Ramen offers completely eastern vegan cuisine. Please tell us why you decided to include a vegan menu and how it has influenced Japan’s vegan culture, particularly in Kyoto.
A: The original concept was soy milk = soymilk ramen and Zen = zazen (sitting meditation), with soymilk ramen as a meal before zazen. To meditate on an empty stomach is difficult as one will be unable to concentrate due to hunger, so one should eat a bit, and soymilk ramen was that food. Being free of unnecessary killing, we are now considered a vegan restaurant. My shop had been open for four or five years when the term veganism began to be used in Japan; at the time, I did not even know what veganism was. Later, when vegans started coming here to eat, the restaurant began to fill up with long queues forming. Around that time, many people in the food industry from all over Japan also came to visit. After that, vegan restaurants began popping up in Tokyo and nationwide. My shop is not ideally located; it’s far from the station, not in the city center, and not near tourist spots. Common sense tells us that shops in this area are not popular. So, if you think about it a bit, you might consider that if you open a vegan restaurant near the station, city, or tourist spots, you can easily succeed. In that sense, I think it has had a subtle influence on vegan culture in Japan and Kyoto.
4.
Q: How does this align with Japanese, particularly Kyoto’s, vegetarian culture?
A: Kyoto has a deep-rooted vegetarian culture due to its many Zen temples. However, Japanese shojin ryori (Zen Buddhist cuisine) is food that monks eat during their temple training, and the public is not interested in it. Regular Japanese people eat meat daily, and even some monks eat meat. Shojin ryori is divided into “ハレ ” (Hare: celebratory) and “ケ” (Ke: ordinary). “ハレ Hare” is luxurious and high-class shojin ryori, usually served only when esteemed monks visit the temple, while “ケ Ke” is simple and rough everyday meals for novice monks. Nowadays, the shojin ryori offered at restaurants near Zen temples is mainly “ハレ Hare,” often priced at over 10,000 yen. “ケ Ke” shojin ryori is not commercialized and rarely seen in society. By incorporating shojin ryori into everyday foods like ramen, we make it accessible to those who avoid animal products, those interested in shojin ryori but deterred by its cost and vegans from overseas. At the same time, I hope this will interest vegans in shojin ryori, and that Zen temples and shojin ryori restaurants will consider vegans as potential customers. Thus, the existence of vegan shojin soymilk ramen might enable mutual recognition and alignment between the two.
5.
Q: Creating truly memorable ramen requires skill and technique. What is Towzen’s secret to making aromatic and unforgettable ramen?
A: The secret is “Try & Error” – a cycle of constant trial and failure. Soy milk is rich in nutrients and delicate, prone to fermenting and changing flavor quickly in summer, so the process is not simple. Freshly made broth has a fresh, astringent taste, somewhat like a fresh Beaujolais wine. However, after repeated boiling, or when tofu skin appears over time, the broth gradually becomes thicker. Too thick or too thin won’t do. Therefore, we pursue a middle-ground broth, neither too thick nor too thin, both rich and light. The life of a ramen shop lies in its broth. So, I am happy when I see customers enjoying their meal and leaving no broth behind.
6.
Q: The success of a restaurant depends on many factors. In the competitive culinary industry, what do you think are the key factors that have led to the success of Towzen?
A: Our concept of this soymilk ramen is “universal peace.” We aim to establish a vegan culture that rivals meat-eating culture and promote global peace through our cuisine. At the same time, we do not intend to compete. Nowadays, people often talk about the concept of co-creation. The existence of Towzen has led to the birth of other vegan restaurants, and we all rise to new levels because of each other. We first need to establish a vegan culture that can rival meat culture. And Towzen has not yet succeeded. The success that Towzen seeks is to create Towzen worldwide, spread the correct Japanese culture, and further spreading Zen culture and spirit to form a Japanese city.
7.
Q: Which signature dishes embody the ramen philosophy of Towzen and are deeply loved by the long-time customers of Kyoto?
A: The “Musashi” ramen, featuring raw yuba and plum, symbolizes the Japanese flag and is named after Miyamoto Musashi, who fought a duel with the Yoshioka clan under the pine tree near the tofu restaurant. Miyamoto Musashi was famous for fighting with two swords, and many notable people are named “Musashi” or “Nitōryū” (two-sword style). Towzen ramen also symbolizes the dual realm of ramen and Zen, hence the name “Musashi. Another popular dish is the “Unagi Kabayaki Eggplant Pressed Sushi.” This dish features eggplant sushi with a flavor reminiscent of grilled eel and is very popular. With my experience working at a sushi restaurant, there was a thought of opening a vegan sushi restaurant, but as Towzen ramen was already busy enough, I decided to focus on this eggplant sushi. The eggplant sushi was originally a limited-time item, but due to its popularity, it has become a regular menu item.
8.
Q: When Towzen expanded to Malaysia, did you adapt the flavors based on local culture, or did you stick to Kyoto’s traditional taste?
A: It might be correct to say that we tried to recreate the traditional taste while also adjusting to local culture. Of course, the climate and environment in Malaysia differ from Japan, so it’s impossible to get exactly the same ingredients, making it impossible to replicate the exact same taste. In Malaysia, people like to order a variety of different dishes from a diverse menu, so our menu there is more varied than in Kyoto. We constantly make minute adjustments to provide better food. Malaysian culture values quick service and visual appeal. We use unique local ingredients to create richer, higher-quality vegan dishes, offering a more diverse vegan dining experience to our customers.
9.
Q: Mr. Yonekawa, how do you view cuisine as a form of art and Zen, and what are your thoughts on Zen philosophy?
A: Zen is a sect of Japanese Buddhism that seeks an intuitive enlightenment experience through zazen (sitting meditation), a practical form of spiritual practice. To avoid interfering with their practice, the food that practitioners eat is called shōjin ryōri, prepared by a head cook known as the Tenzo. The core of Zen lies in understanding the truth of the world through an enlightenment experience beyond words and concepts. The main practice in Zen is zazen, which involves deep focus to posture, breathing, and mindset to achieve enlightenment. I further experienced a form of zazen called nezazen (lying meditation) and had an out-of-body experience. At that time, I experienced the feeling of soaring through the universe, and after that experience, I began to aim for universal peace. To get humans into space faster, the world needs peace, so it is necessary to promote a diet that does not involve unnecessary sacrifice of life, and the quickest way is through vegan ramen.
10.
Q: Once again, how do you view the relationship between the artistry of ramen and Zen philosophy? How do you understand its relationship with Zen philosophy?
A: Zen seeks an enlightenment state which is a practice. Towzen, a soymilk ramen specialty shop, pursues enlightenment through eating ramen, viewing eating as a form of practice. Thus, the way one eats a bowl of ramen, from start to finish, represents their life. Quietly waiting for the dish after ordering, silently reciting the “Five Reflections” and preparing the mindset to enjoy the meal, ideally finishing all the broth, is the best way.
11.
Q: What are the “Five Reflections 五观偈” in Zen dining?
A:
1.计功多少，量彼來处 (Reflect on the effort that brought us this food and consider how it comes to us)
2.忖己德行，全缺应供 (Reflect on one’s own virtue, whether deserving of the offering)
3.防心离过，贪等为宗 (Guard the mind against faults, with non-greed as the principle)
4.正事良药，为疗形枯 (Regard food as medicine, to nourish the body)
5.为成道业，应受此食(Accept this food to support the pursuit of enlightenment)
1. Gratitude: Appreciate the effort and people involved in preparing the food.
2. Reflection: Reflect on whether our behavior deserves to enjoy this meal.
3. Correct mindset: Value food culture and dining etiquette. Hold the bowl in the correct posture and enjoy the broth completely.
4. Health: Recognize that food is the best medicine for body and mind.
5. Pursuing the Bodhisattva path: Eating this meal is to achieve one’s way.
