{"id":48345,"date":"2022-04-19T22:05:43","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T20:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sushiya.de\/?page_id=48345"},"modified":"2026-01-02T13:20:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T12:20:41","slug":"moritsuke","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sushiya.de\/en\/washoku\/moritsuke\/","title":{"rendered":"Moritsuke - the Japanese art of dressing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At SUSHIYA we love the japanese cuisine<\/a> and therefore operate the Restaurant sansaro<\/a>. But we are not business-blind and prefer to visit other good Japanese restaurants even more than our own restaurant. When we recently once again another\u00a0(and even highly praised by critics).<\/span>\u00a0Japanese restaurant in Munich, we were surprised to find that the Sashimi<\/a> Moriawase seemed completely different than in our own restaurant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>

While we were tasting it, we remembered how many times our chefs:inside Natsuko and Satomi explained to other junior chefs how to ideally arrange a sashimi.\u00a0<\/p>

When we inquired further on this topic, we quickly came up with the concept of moritsuke, which plays a very important role in Japanese cuisine.\u00a0In Germany, however, it still seems to be completely unknown as a keyword. We have done some research and compiled all the information for you here.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is Moritsuke?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Moritsuke (\u76db\u308a\u4ed8\u3051) is the Japanese term for serving and arranging food on plates. Mori (\u76db\u308a) means \"to serve\" and tsuke (\u4ed8\u3051) means \"to adhere\" and both together also mean to place food on a plate.<\/p>

Moritsuke is a central component of Japanese cuisine. This is because Japanese people enjoy looking at the food with pleasure for a short time before eating it, tasting it first with their eyes and only then with their tongue, so to speak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We also say that the eye eats with the food. But the idea of a specific arrangement of the food, from the smallest shapes on the plate, the sizes of the food components to the overall image of the plate is in Japan again in a completely different dimension and much more specific intention thought out and formalized.<\/p>

The culinary pleasure of eating the same dish can actually vary significantly - depending on how well it is prepared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Therefore, serving in Japan is considered \"part of the cooking process\" and requires knowledge of some artful techniques to be properly mastered.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Where does Moritsuke come from?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The history of Japanese culinary arts is very long. Formal cuisine, as served at the court of the Tenno, was strongly influenced by China, as were many other arts of the time until the 12th century.\u00a0 <\/span>This affected both the methods of preparation and the style in which the dishes were served. The samurai then developed their own unique Japanese style, the Honzen-Ry\u014dri, in the 14th century.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

At that time, cooking utensils were also introduced, similar in shape to today's kitchen knives, and it came to the Connection of the art of cutting and seasoning<\/a>. Japanese features such as the refined way of serving sashimi so that its beautiful grain is visible through the cut date from this period. For these reasons, Honzen-Ry\u014dri is considered the origin of Japanese cuisine styles as we know them today.<\/p>

Later, with the establishment of the tea ceremony and the associated cha-kaiseki, the unique Japanese concept of omotenashi<\/a> - In short, the focus on the guest's experience - as an important element of the cuisine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This is how the idea of \"Moritsuke\" was born in Japanese cuisine: to increase the pleasure for the guest by arranging the food with care and presenting it on the plate according to sophisticated basic ideas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What are the main features of Moritsuke?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Easy to pick up and eat<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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First and foremost, of course, it is important to make it easy for the eater to pick up and eat the food.<\/p>

It happens again and again that a chef wants to serve or present his food in a certain way so that it looks especially great - but the simple process of eating is not necessarily facilitated or supported by this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Think of some elaborate breakfast sandwiches in modern cafes that do well on Instagram but are often not easy to eat. Or great hamburgers that may splatter in all directions when eaten and are clearly too big for the mouth. And even spaghetti and pizza are not automatically bite-sized on the plate by default, and certainly not automatically presented in bite-sized form directly by the chef.<\/p>

In fact, it is surprisingly difficult to combine a beautiful presentation with ease of consumption. This is where the experience and skill of the chef come into their own.<\/p>

In Japanese cuisine, kaiseki and \u00e0 la carte dishes are usually prepared in individual portions for each person. Since most Japanese are right-handed and eat with chopsticks, when there are several dishes on a plate, the dishes on the front right are less voluminous and those on the back left are gradually more voluminous.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tableware<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When preparing a meal, the tableware on which the food is served also plays a crucial role.<\/p>

As the famous gourmet and artist Kitaoji Rosanjin (\u5317\u5927\u8def\u9b6f\u5c71\u4eba, March 23, 1883 - December 21, 1959) said, \"Tableware is the kimono of food,\" and tableware is essential for serving a dish. Moreover, the tableware actually plays an important role in enhancing the taste, aroma and presentation of the food.<\/p>

Japanese cuisine uses ceramic and porcelain dishes, lacquered bowls and a variety of vessel shapes made of different materials: Wood, plastic, glass, ceramics, porcelain, baskets made of bamboo, stones or shells - everything has a meaning, everything is used with thought.<\/p>

In addition, Japanese cuisine is probably the only cuisine in the world that uses a combination of different dinnerware shapes such as bowls, soup bowls, and plates of different sizes and depths within just one meal. So, for example, two soups may be presented in two deliberately different soup bowls in one meal.<\/p>

In addition, the seasonal colors, painted pottery and glassware remind us of the changing seasons not only through the seasonal ingredients, but also through the dishes themselves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The meaning of the empty space<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When serving food, the \"empty space\" (kukan, \u7a7a\u9593) is very important.<\/p>

It is said that when serving food, it looks nice if the amount of food is kept moderate in relation to the size of the bowl, leaving a margin of 30 % to 60 % or more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Depending on the season, you can also use refined open spaces to create a feeling of freshness, freedom, lightness in the summer. And in contrast, you can arrange dishes more tightly in the winter to create a feeling of warmth, security, fullness.<\/p>

Also, when serving soup in a bowl, it is said that it looks better if the amount of soup is only a maximum of 60 % to 70 % of the height of the bowl.<\/p>

In this way, the chef can subtly direct the guest's perception.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Spiritual influence on the kitchen of harmony<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A profound influence on Shintoism, the Japanese view of nature, and the way of life of the Japanese was the Ying-Yang philosophy of the five elements, which originated in China in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. It came to Japan during the Asuka period (710-794 BC) and is known there as the In-Y\u014d Gogyo Shis\u014d (\u9670\u967d\u4e94\u884c\u601d\u60f3).<\/p>

This philosophy is also reflected in Japanese cuisine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

It divides all phenomena into the two elements \"In and Y\u014d\" and the five elements of \"Gogy\u014d\" and interprets the phenomena according to the combination of each element. Everything in \"In\" (\u9670, means shadow) and \"Y\u014d\".\u00a0 <\/span>(\u967d, means sunlight), and it is believed that the world exists by balancing these two elements.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Straight lines and curves blend into harmony<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Based on this philosophy, in Japanese cuisine, square objects are considered \"In\" and round objects are considered \"Y\u014d\", and the relationship between food and dishes is also considered to be one of In and Y\u014d.<\/p>

Since knives are not normally used when eating a Japanese meal, the food is cut into easy-to-eat pieces. Even when preparing these bite-sized pieces, the chef influences which pieces are round and which are square to be served to the guest. Following the concept of In-Y\u014d harmony, it is said that a round plate should be used for square dishes such as steamed vegetables and a square plate should be used for dishes with a round cross-section such as makimono (sushi rolls).<\/p>

The idea of creating harmony by balancing round and angular shapes is not an absolute rule, but it is an important element of moritsuke, which combines straight lines and curves in a perfect balance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Number of dishes<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the In-Y\u014d Gogyo Shis\u014d, the odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 among the single-digit numbers are called \"Y\u014d numbers\" and are considered lucky numbers - typical of Japanese culture to this day. The number of menu items at the Kaiseki and its predecessor, the Honzen-Ry\u014dri, is therefore always an odd number, as is the variety of ingredients on the sashimi platters.<\/p>

But why are nigirizushi traditionally often served as a pair of two? Firstly, because sushi chefs are considerate of their customers and say that two smaller pieces are easier to eat than one large piece, and secondly, because the Japanese prefer to serve two pieces in a row rather than just one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

It is said that today's nigirizushi, which can be eaten in a single bite, was not developed until the end of the Edo period (1603-1867).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In our restaurant, we know that many of our German guests still have a hard time with the different types of nigiri - and that's why you can order them individually with us. So it differs worldwide depending on the restaurant philosophy, whether you want to think traditionally in this question or offer the guest the greater flexibility in the selection.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Coloring<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The five elements of the In-Y\u014d Gogy\u014d Shis\u014d divide all things into five areas.<\/p>

In Japanese cuisine, for example, there are mostly the flavors sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and salty and the preparation methods raw, boiled, grilled, fried and steamed.<\/p>

The main colors in moritsuke are blue, red, yellow, white and black.<\/p>

Typical ingredients used in Japanese cuisine are color-categorized as follows.<\/p>