Dining on the Vegetarian Shojin Cuisine of Imperial Princesses at a Tokyo Convent – Zen through Food

A Convent Culture Continues Quietly in Musashi-Koganei

A fifteen minute walk along the main street from Musashi-Koganei station in Western Tokyo stands the Sanmon gate of Sankoin temple, an oasis of greenery in this residential neighborhood. This temple was founded in 1934 as a convent for nuns, and its first head abbess Yoneda Soei took over from her previous life at Dongein convent in Kyoto. As an Amamonzeki-jiin, or Imperial convent, princesses and daughters of court nobles and shoguns took up residence, fostering a unique upper class culture of religious life and cuisine. Abbess Soei, a trainee of one of these convents, was a progenitor of the culture and vegetarian culinary traditions that emerged in this region.

Passing through the main gates of Sankoin, visitors are greeted by a stately main hall surrounded by verdant trees and moss

Later, second generation Abbess Hoshino Kouei began undertaking efforts to popularize the joys of shojin ryori, providing meals to the public, holding cooking classes, and publishing cookbooks. Perhaps it was this approach that evolved into Sankoin’s wide open atmosphere, and the fact that most Amamonzeki temples are still open to the public as places to eat and study. The deeper aspects of cloistered life may remain hidden behind a veil, but sitting down to a full shojin ryori meal at Sankoin Temple is much closer than most laypeople ever get to experiencing it.

The Unique Story of Sankoin’s Head Chef

Sankoin’s head chef, Koushun Nishii, has lived as a temple nun at the temple, beginning her tutelage under Abbess Koei when she was already over 50. But her culinary journey began at age 16, when she went to France alone (with the help of a relative) and studied French home cooking. She graduated at the top of her class from the prestigious culinary arts schools Le Cordon Bleu and École Lenôtre. After her return to Japan, she gained prominence as an expert on French cuisine. She appeared on a stories TV cooking program with more than 50 years of history, taught cooking classes, and published cookbooks and recipes. But over time she discovered a powerful yearning inside herself to learn more about her own country’s traditional culture.

Sole successor to the “Take-no-gosho” style of shojin vegetarian cuisine, and head chef of Sankoin, Koushun Nishii

Nishi admired the Amamonzeki temple culture and became a protege of Abbess Koei in part due to her fascination with shojin ryori. Putting her own cooking classes on the back burner, she took up the cloth as a nun and after a long period of training, emerged as the head chef of Sankoin and the sole successor to the Take-no-gosho tradition of shojin ryori.

Nishii prepares all the dishes served in this experience fresh on the day, serving them up at the peak of their deliciousness. Sankoin’s unique shojin ryori is characterized by its emphatic drawing out of the individual flavors and elegance of its seasonal ingredients rather than relying on unnecessary added seasoning.

Discover Shojin Ryori and Zen Thought Together

Stroll the grounds with your instructor and learn about convent culture and Zen thought through a talk in the private tea room. The austerities of Zen Buddhism and faith are closely intertwined into daily life at Sankoin, and the lives of faith that past abbesses lived is evident everywhere. Nonetheless, a playful atmosphere of freesome also shines through, such as in a cute stone statue of Buddha, a moon motif on the path to the dining room, and the fruit, vegetables, and herbs that grow freely in the garden.

Decorations at your feet representing the phases of the moon – at Sankoin, a clean plate at the end of a meal course is often likened to a beautiful full moon

Walking the grounds, you’ll eventually find yourself in a corner tea room. Here you can learn all about the history of the temple and its Zen philosophy. For many, the word “Zen” conjures up images of zazen kneeling meditation training, but Sankoin puts its emphasis on
Zen eating and Zen labor, explained in more detail below.

The quiet, cozy tea room is brought to life by bursts of greenery in the windows

“Zen eating” refers to practices centered around making food, cooking, eating, and cleaning up after a meal. “Zen labor” literally means “making and working Zen,” and it refers to practices centered around the labor of daily life, from growing crops to cooking to laundry to cleaning to buying and selling. In other words, both of these practices are ways of pursuing Zen through the day-to-day activities of living life.

Any labor involving patience, perseverance, and using energy – such as gardening or raising vegetables – can be a form of Zen labo

In addition to the philosophical underpinnings of Zen eating and Zen labor, Sankoin emphasizes the autonomy of “having one’s own will and one’s own answers.” Deepening your understanding of Zen by learning about these concepts will prepare you to better appreciate the shojin ryori you will soon dine on.

Simple, Sophisticated Shojin Ryori

After the talk, it is time to actually enjoy the delights of Nishii’s shojin ryori. Per the etiquette of the Amamonzeki temples, matcha and sweets are served as the welcome appetizer.

The shojin ryori at Sankoin is unlike any other, carrying over 660 years of history passed down from Tsugenji Temple. Unlike the more widely known temple cuisine developed for monks, this style of cooking evolved within the cloistered world of Kyoto’s imperial convents. It is the only form of shojin ryori in Japan prepared for imperial princesses who served as abbesses, lovingly made by generations of nuns and court ladies whose names remain unknown.

During your author’s visit, a Japanese sweet known as Monaka was served alongside the matcha (exact offerings vary depending on the day)

When you have finished your welcome snack and are ready for the courses to begin, head chef Nishii will bring out each freshly-prepared dish at its peak timing for deliciousness. The Take-no-gosho cooking tradition places great emphasis on fresh preparation and perfect timing of serving. Dishes are never prepared in advance, and even those whose preparation is long and time-consuming are always prepared from scratch on the day they are to be served.

A sample dish – the aroma and flavor of each ingredient comes through clearly

Another defining feature of the Take-no-gosho style is that it makes almost no use of the dashi stock so ubiquitous in Japanese cooking. This owes to the tradition’s heavy emphasis on patiently and meticulously spotlighting the natural flavor of each seasonal ingredient rather than adding extra flavor to interfere. “Take-no-gosho style shojin ryori is a ‘cuisine free of worldly desire,’ created by nuns for convent life,” says Nishii. “It’s hardly the only delicious vegetarian cooking style in the world – of which there are many – but it is one that places far greater emphasis on making the ingredients themselves the star of the show, rather than the chef. I think this is a valuable philosophy.”

The luxury of just-prepared dishes served hot and fresh by Chef Nishii

The Philosophy of Zen from the Particulars of Cooking

The full meal in this experience, which changes from month to month, consists of 12 to 13 dishes. Each one is delicious, but each one is also imbued with a depth of Zen philosophy and meaning. For example, a tofu dish referred to as “The Indian Rabbit” draws its name and philosophical inspiration from a story of the ancient Jātaka, tales of Indian Buddhism. Dine in quiet meditation over the meaning of each dish as you ponder their names, inspirations, and characteristics (exact dishes vary depending on the day).

Kogarashi, a dish of miso-marinated grilled eggplant, which is inspired by the biwa, a famous short-necked lute of the Japanese musical tradition (exact dishes vary depending on the day)

The Take-no-gosho culinary style, which has largely been passed down orally, is said to encompass over 300 dishes based in tofu. And it has a surprisingly seminal legacy. Many familiar standard categories of modern Japanese cuisine, such as the slow-simmered oden now known as both simple home cooking and street food, or assortment of side dishes called oban and generally now assorted with higher class kaiseki cuisine, are actually terms which originated from the cuisine of high-ranking ladies of the Imperial court – the very same cohort that often populated the Amamonzeki temple convents. As such, some of the dishes you will encounter in this experience are the originals of what has become standard Japanese cuisine – while others are new innovations unique to Sankoin (exact dishes vary depending on the day).

Those very familiar with Japanese cuisine may find themselves shocked at the richness of flavor Nishii achieves without the use of any dashi stock (exact dishes vary depending on the day)

Nishii’s stories of the creation of the various dishes paint a picture of the personalities of past abbesses, and her philosophical concepts imbue each of her dishes with an exotic depth – stimulating the imagination to picture the playful freedom, faith, and inventiveness of life at Sankoin

Getting to Know Chef Nishii, Finding Zen in Cooking

When the experience has come to an end, enjoy some free time to chat directly with chef Koushun Nishii. Nishii may be stoic and imperturbable in the kitchen, but she is warm and forthcoming in conversation. Feel free to ask her whatever you like about shojin ryori, the life of convent nuns, the charming world of the Amamonzeki temple convents, and beyond.

Nishi is such a natural conversationalist full of interesting thoughts that it’s easy to lose track of time

The subtle flavors of shojin ryori and a heartwarming chat with the charming Nishii will make the time at Sankoin fly by. Little of the rigid formality one might expect of a Zen temple or its cuisine is to be found here. Luxuriate in relaxed comfort and enjoy the temple culture and cuisine in your own way, and be refreshed in spirit and body.

Sankoin temple, an oasis of greenery in this residential neighborhood