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[Takeo Onsen Main Gate & New Wing]

Takeo Onsen in Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, is a historic hot spring resort representing Kyushu, documented in the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki chronicle from approximately 1,300 years ago. Legend has it that Empress Jingu herself bathed here in ancient times. Furthermore, during the 1592 Bunroku Campaign, Toyotomi Hideyoshi designated “Tsukasaki Onsen” (present-day Takeo Onsen) as a therapeutic bathing site for his troops invading Korea. His official edict, the “Bathing Guidelines,” remains preserved. Records also indicate visits by figures like Miyamoto Musashi, Philipp Franz von Siebold, Date Masamune, and Ino Tadataka, making it a beloved destination for many warlords and travelers.

During the Meiji period, it began to take shape as a modern hot spring resort. The tower gate and new building, now symbols of Takeo Onsen, were constructed during the Taisho period. They represent a nationally rare fusion of hot spring culture and modern architecture. The tower gate features a two-story structure, blending traditional Japanese architecture with Chinese-style designs and modern architectural elements, expressed in its magnificent vermilion lacquer finish. The New Building, designed to integrate seamlessly with the gate, features a symmetrical exterior. Inside, it incorporated advanced facilities for its time, embodying the dignity of a formal public building despite its function as baths. The combination of wooden structures with glass, decorative metalwork, Arita porcelain tiles, and Japanese majolica tiles creates a space where tradition and modernity coexist.

Designed by Tatsuno Kingo, often called the father of modern Japanese architecture and instrumental in establishing Western architecture in Japan, this complex embodies his distinctive approach. Tatsuno's work is characterized not merely by imitation of Western styles, but by reconfiguring them to suit Japan's climate and culture. At Takeo Onsen, he incorporated the rationality and ornamentation of modern architecture, achieving both the “warmth” and “prestige” befitting a hot spring facility. Tatsuno Kingo left numerous renowned buildings across Japan. Among his most famous works is the red-brick Marunouchi Station Building of Tokyo Station. Other notable Western-style buildings include the Bank of Japan Head Office, regional Bank of Japan branches, the Nara Hotel, and the former Karatsu Bank. However, among these, Takeo Onsen is unique for its blend of Japanese and Western styles specifically applied to bathhouse design. The fact that such a highly accomplished example of Tatsuno architecture remains in a regional city is a significant value of Takeo Onsen.

Unfortunately, I was unable to see the actual structure this time, but the mystery surrounding the four missing zodiac animals—omitted from the restored octagonal dome ceiling at Tokyo Station—was solved. The following year after the restoration, carved paintings of the Rat, Rabbit, Horse, and Rooster were discovered arranged in the north, south, east, and west directions on the ceiling of the second floor of the Takeo Onsen gate tower. Even the smallest details are imbued with narrative and ornamental elements, revealing Tatsuno's playful spirit.

Supported as a town treasure, Takeo Onsen. Consequently, the choice of color seems to reflect the local community's desire to emphasize its symbolic importance for the town. The vermilion red used on the gates of shrines and temples, castles, and important facilities is a color that visually signifies “this is a special place.” It appears there was a desire to position Takeo Onsen not as “just a bathhouse,” but as a representative landmark of the town, a prestigious hot spring. Tatsuno Kingo was not an architect who typically used vermilion red extensively. However, for Takeo Onsen, he likely arrived at the design choice of deliberately using vermilion, considering the incorporation of Chinese-style motifs into the Japanese architecture, the nature of the hot spring facility itself, and the local community's enthusiasm. This gate can be seen as born from the fusion of his design philosophy with the local symbolism and awareness of tourism promotion.

The moment I passed through the vermilion gate, the air softened, and I felt as if I had stepped into another world. Cut off from the outside bustle, the view ahead unfolds with a nostalgic atmosphere. The gate of Takeo Onsen feels less like a mere entrance and more like a “boundary” connecting the present to the footsteps of history.

Takeo Onsen
https://www.takeo-kk.net/spa/
Showroom Information
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/

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[Spare Rib Kalbitang-Style Stew]

Once when I visited Korea, I meant to go to Gangnam but accidentally got off at the wrong station. Since it was lunchtime, I decided to grab something nearby and entered a restaurant packed with locals. We were probably the only tourists there. I ordered the soup with bone-in meat that everyone was eating so enthusiastically, and it was so incredibly delicious that I still fondly remember thinking, “Getting off at the wrong station was truly a blessing.”

Kalbitang is a clear soup dish made by slowly simmering beef short ribs on the bone. You savor the meat, which becomes so tender it falls off the bone easily, along with the rich, flavorful broth. Besides the ribs, ingredients like green onions, Korean glass noodles (dangmyeon), jujubes, and ginseng may be added, making it perfect for nourishment and strength. The meat is delicious on its own, paired with the accompanying kimchi, or coated with a spicy soy sauce-based sauce. It's also a tasty dish when you add the rice served alongside to the soup and make it into a kimbap.

While beef short ribs with bone are hard to come by, I heard this kalbitang is also delicious made with pork spare ribs. So, I tried making it in Suzuki's clay pot rice cooker, simmering it with daikon radish and aromatic vegetables. The far-infrared effect unique to Banshu ware slowly and thoroughly heats the spare ribs right to the core. The clay pot's gradual heat transfer prevents the meat proteins from hardening abruptly, resulting in a plump and tender finish.

While this clay pot usually excels at cooking delicious rice, why not try it this way sometimes? The spare ribs simmer until the meat falls effortlessly off the bone. Aromatic vegetables like ginger and garlic, known for their warming properties. And the broth, seasoned simply with salt and a touch of soy sauce – its simplicity allows the flavors of the ingredients to truly shine through.

Kalbitang-Style (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
270 g pork spare ribs
3–4 cm daikon radish, cut into quarter-rounds
1/3 stalk long green onion
2 tablespoons sake
2 slices ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1–2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
A pinch of black pepper
750–800 ml water

Instructions:
1. Place water and daikon radish in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add the spare ribs (rinsed briefly under running water), sake, sliced ginger, and the green part of the green onion.
3. When it returns to a boil, carefully skim off the scum. Cover and simmer over low-medium heat for 30-40 minutes, until the meat is tender.
4. Add garlic, soy sauce, and salt to adjust the flavor.
5. Add the white part of the green onion and sprinkle with pepper to taste. Serve.

Suzuki's Hagama Rice Pot
https://www.shokunin.com/en/suzuki/
Okubo House Mokkosha's Ladle Spoon
https://www.shokunin.com/en/okubo/otama.html
Wajima Kirimoto's Sugiwan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kirimoto/sugi.html
Shirokiya Shikkiten's Teshiozara
https://www.shokunin.com/en/shirokiya/teshio.html

References
https://karaichi.com/galbi-tang/ (Reference Recipe)
https://www.konest.com/contents/gourmet_guide_detail.html?sc=2113

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[Ueno's Tonkatsu]

Ueno is easily accessible from Ginza and Yurakucho. With its many shopping and cultural facilities, it's always bustling, both now and in the past—a slightly retro, welcoming area. There's something I've often wondered about in Ueno. It's not a huge issue, but I decided to look into it this time. Why are there so many tonkatsu restaurants in Ueno? And why are they all renowned establishments? Food connoisseurs might think, “You didn't know that?!” But I didn't. I had a vague sense, but it turns out Ueno is indeed the birthplace of tonkatsu.

Western cuisine arrived in Japan between the introduction of firearms in 1543 and the start of national isolation. New ingredients and spices came via the Nanban trade with Portuguese and Spanish merchants. However, due to the scale of imports, differences in eating habits, and the Buddhist prohibition against meat consumption, it didn't have enough influence to fundamentally change Japanese food culture. After over 200 years of isolation, the arrival of Perry's Black Ships triggered the declaration of opening the country, and Western cuisine gradually began to spread, albeit slowly. Even after opening in the late Edo period, it remained a luxury beyond the reach of commoners. Only those of higher social standing could enjoy it in the early Meiji era. Procuring expensive Western ingredients and tableware was extremely difficult. By the late Meiji period, new flavors adapted to Japanese ingredients and cooking methods, suited to local tastes, were proposed within commoners' lives. This marked the birth of Japanese-style Western cuisine, known as “yoshoku.”

The three most coveted Western dishes that emerged were “tonkatsu” (pork cutlet), “rice curry,” and “croquette.” The popular ‘tonkatsu’ originated from “pork cutlet,” derived from the French “côte de veau” and the English “cutlet.” It was created by the long-established Ginza restaurant “Renga-tei.” Originally, as a French restaurant, they served “veal cutlet.” However, responding to requests for “something lighter” and “something to eat with rice instead of bread,” they switched from beef to pork. They also replaced the breadcrumbs with grated cheese and the egg wash, frying it in abundant oil like tempura. This led to the creation of the style where rice was served on a bread plate, eaten with rice placed on the back of a fork, and accompanied by shredded raw cabbage.

Then, while working as a cook at “Ponchiken” in Ueno Okachimachi, Mr. Shinjiro Shimada, who had been in charge of Western cuisine at the Imperial Household Agency's Grand Kitchen, overheard a customer remark, “Beefsteak can be thick, even an inch thick, so why can't cutlets be thick too?” Inspired, he devised a tonkatsu cooking method that cooked thick meat (2.5–3 cm) all the way through to the center and began serving it. This marked the birth of thick-cut “tonkatsu.” Later, due to wartime rationing during World War II, the tonkatsu flame was temporarily extinguished, but its delicious taste was never forgotten! A tonkatsu boom returned, and now over 40-50 shops in the Ueno area serve it, including “Horaiya,” beloved by film director Yasujiro Ozu, and “Isen Honten,” the birthplace of the katsu sandwich and the setting for the “Morishige Comedy Tonkatsu Generation.”

With the start of the year, exam season, and the Winter Olympics approaching—times when we need to get pumped up—let's make this a year where “eating tonkatsu leads to victory.”

Ginza Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/ginza.html
Tonkatsu Tonpei
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pRC7SniQSFNU9CSb9

References
https://artplaza.geidai.ac.jp/sights/15649/
http://www2a.biglobe.ne.jp/~hmikami/tonkatu/history.htm
https://www.plenus.co.jp/kome-academy/roots/western.html
https://www.alt-alc.com/post/日本における西洋料理の導入