Latest news with #Kobayashi
Vogue
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Irenisa Tokyo Spring 2026 Collection
'When you get away from the bustle of the city, your mind can return to a soft neutral state. We wanted to express this neutral feeling through clothing,' said Yu Kobayashi of this season's Irenisa collection. A former pattern cutter for Yohji Yamamoto, Kobayashi runs the brand with Yuji Abe. Together, these intelligent designers channel their talents for superior fabrication and chic tailoring into clothes that are beautifully clean and considered. Kobayashi and Abe have expanded their range of materials, and the collection was rich with texture. A sleek leather blazer was a highlight in the growing womenswear offering, and the jacquard floral button-up shirts and trousers were also exceptionally well executed. A padded garment bag nodded more directly to the aforementioned theme of escaping the city: you can imagine it being carried by a very stylish salaryman taking the shinkansen out of Tokyo for the weekend. As usual, the designers were at their best with the intentionally weird details they mixed in with the precise cuts and excellent fabrics. To wit: the buttoned-up polo necks that were pulled too tight, the super-high socks and culottes, and a membranous water-repellent nylon made into sheer balloon pants and an impossibly lightweight zip-up. Another interesting proposition: an ivory cotton trench coat that can be separated into a skirt and a jacket to be worn together or apart. This season marks Irenisa's 12th in business, and there's a sense that the brand feels ready to level up. 'We are still unknown to the world, so it's often the case that people don't pay attention to us,' said Kobayashi. It's true: Irenisa is yet to experience the piranha-like wave of fashion bro mania that tends to descend upon the well-crafted Japanese menswear brand du jour (Auralee occupies this spot currently, with Stein not far behind). But if Abe and Kobayashi can amp up the fun and release some more hero pieces while keeping their technical precision and rigor, increased recognition will surely come. The brand's quality is uniformly top-notch and the details mostly unimpeachable. Indeed, in Japanese stores you'll often see Irenisa placed alongside Jil Sander and The Row. For those who appreciate well-made clothes in beautiful fabrics that have a point of view, Irenisa is one to watch. 'I've realized there isn't much in Japan that can produce this level of tailoring at this quality,' said Kobayashi. 'The question now is how we can compete on a global scale.'
Hamilton Spectator
09-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Tsukudani and hot rice: Still a go-to meal in Japan centuries after its creation
TOKYO (AP) — Their morning starts at 5 a.m. The father and son don't speak to each other. They don't need to. They barely look at each other as they go briskly, almost mechanically, from task to task. Beads of sweat glisten on their foreheads. It's the same work they've been doing at their shop for years: Cooking in big metal pots the ancient Japanese food tsukudani. It's preserved food invented long before the advent of modern refrigeration, dating back to the samurai Edo Era more than 200 years ago. Pieces of tuna, tiny shrimp, seaweed and other ingredients get simmered in a sweet syrup of soy sauce, sake and sugar. The air in the shop becomes damp, pungent, sweet. Today, it's clam tsukudani: Two pots from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and two more from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. They'll cook other items in the afternoon, depending on the orders that come in from restaurants and stores. They can't stir what's cooking much. The tiny pieces are fragile and will break. 'My father is very old school,' Yoshihiro Kobayashi says with a mix of exasperation and resignation in his voice. Somewhere hidden behind his matter-of-fact tone is his deep love and respect for what he has inherited. Working first at a fashion brand, then a department store, the younger Kobayashi initially had no plans to take up his father's work. But he later made up his mind to return. He says his father is strict and opinionated, yet today Nobuo Kobayashi leaves all the talking to his son, laughing when this reporter aims the camera, 'Don't take me. Your camera might break.' Where it's from and how it's made Tsukushin, the Kobayashis' factory-turned-shop, is tucked away in a corner of a quaint humble Tsukuda neighborhood by the Sumida River in downtown Tokyo. It's where tsukudani was born — the dish's name fittingly translates to 'cooked in Tsukuda.' 'The original,' 'founding,' 'first and foremost' read big wooden signs hanging by the roofs of the rickety tsukudani stores. These days, tsukudani is standard Japanese fare, often mass-produced at modern factories far away from the dish's birthplace. At Kobayashi's shop, tsukudani gets cooked in vats over earthen vessels called 'kamados' that were fired up with wood and charcoal in the olden days, but these days use gas. It's then placed in a large, wooden 'handai' serving plate — just the way the ancestors did it. It's a painstaking procedure requiring about an hour of steady simmering, and the amount that can be produced at one time is limited. Yoshihiro Kobayashi says the closest equivalent in the West is jam. To be eaten the right way Tsukudani is a prime example of how Japan , despite its high-tech modernity and an economy driven by global corporates like Toyota and Sony, maintains traditions passed down over generations, much of them through small businesses. Although the basic way to eat tsukudani is with a bowl of hot rice, often served with miso or soy-bean paste soup, it also makes a good snack with sake . Tsukudani can also be used as filling for rice balls or as an easy side dish for 'bento,' or packed lunch, and it makes for a good topping on 'chazuke,' which is rice with hot green tea poured over it. Overall, rice is tudkudani's best pairing. Tsukudani ice cream or tsukudani potato chip isn't the direction to go, Kobayashi said. If it's not eaten the right way, it won't taste good. The novelty comes with communicating that basic message to people — foreigners and younger Japanese alike — who might not even know what tsukudani is. Noriko Kobayashi, who is not related to the tsukudani makers, runs a tiny store in Tokyo that sells artwork, wooden figures, patterned clothing and other knickknacks from Africa, Scandinavia and other faraway places. She said she likes to eat seaweed tsukudani with cheese, while sipping on sake, usually for dinner. 'It's nothing special,' she said, noting she's been eating it since childhood. Now that she's older, she appreciates the way it aids one's intestines. 'It's a kind of health food,' she said. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
09-07-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tsukudani and hot rice: Still a go-to meal in Japan centuries after its creation
TOKYO (AP) — Their morning starts at 5 a.m. The father and son don't speak to each other. They don't need to. They barely look at each other as they go briskly, almost mechanically, from task to task. Beads of sweat glisten on their foreheads. It's the same work they've been doing at their shop for years: Cooking in big metal pots the ancient Japanese food tsukudani. It's preserved food invented long before the advent of modern refrigeration, dating back to the samurai Edo Era more than 200 years ago. Pieces of tuna, tiny shrimp, seaweed and other ingredients get simmered in a sweet syrup of soy sauce, sake and sugar. The air in the shop becomes damp, pungent, sweet. Today, it's clam tsukudani: Two pots from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and two more from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. They'll cook other items in the afternoon, depending on the orders that come in from restaurants and stores. They can't stir what's cooking much. The tiny pieces are fragile and will break. 'My father is very old school,' Yoshihiro Kobayashi says with a mix of exasperation and resignation in his voice. Somewhere hidden behind his matter-of-fact tone is his deep love and respect for what he has inherited. Working first at a fashion brand, then a department store, the younger Kobayashi initially had no plans to take up his father's work. But he later made up his mind to return. He says his father is strict and opinionated, yet today Nobuo Kobayashi leaves all the talking to his son, laughing when this reporter aims the camera, 'Don't take me. Your camera might break.' Where it's from and how it's made Tsukushin, the Kobayashis' factory-turned-shop, is tucked away in a corner of a quaint humble Tsukuda neighborhood by the Sumida River in downtown Tokyo. It's where tsukudani was born — the dish's name fittingly translates to 'cooked in Tsukuda.' 'The original,' 'founding,' 'first and foremost' read big wooden signs hanging by the roofs of the rickety tsukudani stores. These days, tsukudani is standard Japanese fare, often mass-produced at modern factories far away from the dish's birthplace. At Kobayashi's shop, tsukudani gets cooked in vats over earthen vessels called 'kamados' that were fired up with wood and charcoal in the olden days, but these days use gas. It's then placed in a large, wooden 'handai' serving plate — just the way the ancestors did it. It's a painstaking procedure requiring about an hour of steady simmering, and the amount that can be produced at one time is limited. Yoshihiro Kobayashi says the closest equivalent in the West is jam. To be eaten the right way Tsukudani is a prime example of how Japan, despite its high-tech modernity and an economy driven by global corporates like Toyota and Sony, maintains traditions passed down over generations, much of them through small businesses. Although the basic way to eat tsukudani is with a bowl of hot rice, often served with miso or soy-bean paste soup, it also makes a good snack with sake. Tsukudani can also be used as filling for rice balls or as an easy side dish for 'bento,' or packed lunch, and it makes for a good topping on 'chazuke,' which is rice with hot green tea poured over it. Overall, rice is tudkudani's best pairing. Tsukudani ice cream or tsukudani potato chip isn't the direction to go, Kobayashi said. If it's not eaten the right way, it won't taste good. The novelty comes with communicating that basic message to people — foreigners and younger Japanese alike — who might not even know what tsukudani is. Noriko Kobayashi, who is not related to the tsukudani makers, runs a tiny store in Tokyo that sells artwork, wooden figures, patterned clothing and other knickknacks from Africa, Scandinavia and other faraway places. She said she likes to eat seaweed tsukudani with cheese, while sipping on sake, usually for dinner. 'It's a kind of health food,' she said. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tsukudani and hot rice: Still a go-to meal in Japan centuries after its creation
TOKYO (AP) — Their morning starts at 5 a.m. The father and son don't speak to each other. They don't need to. They barely look at each other as they go briskly, almost mechanically, from task to task. Beads of sweat glisten on their foreheads. It's the same work they've been doing at their shop for years: Cooking in big metal pots the ancient Japanese food tsukudani. It's preserved food invented long before the advent of modern refrigeration, dating back to the samurai Edo Era more than 200 years ago. Pieces of tuna, tiny shrimp, seaweed and other ingredients get simmered in a sweet syrup of soy sauce, sake and sugar. The air in the shop becomes damp, pungent, sweet. Today, it's clam tsukudani: Two pots from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and two more from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. They'll cook other items in the afternoon, depending on the orders that come in from restaurants and stores. They can't stir what's cooking much. The tiny pieces are fragile and will break. 'My father is very old school,' Yoshihiro Kobayashi says with a mix of exasperation and resignation in his voice. Somewhere hidden behind his matter-of-fact tone is his deep love and respect for what he has inherited. Working first at a fashion brand, then a department store, the younger Kobayashi initially had no plans to take up his father's work. But he later made up his mind to return. He says his father is strict and opinionated, yet today Nobuo Kobayashi leaves all the talking to his son, laughing when this reporter aims the camera, 'Don't take me. Your camera might break.' Where it's from and how it's made Tsukushin, the Kobayashis' factory-turned-shop, is tucked away in a corner of a quaint humble Tsukuda neighborhood by the Sumida River in downtown Tokyo. It's where tsukudani was born — the dish's name fittingly translates to 'cooked in Tsukuda.' 'The original,' 'founding,' 'first and foremost' read big wooden signs hanging by the roofs of the rickety tsukudani stores. These days, tsukudani is standard Japanese fare, often mass-produced at modern factories far away from the dish's birthplace. At Kobayashi's shop, tsukudani gets cooked in vats over earthen vessels called 'kamados' that were fired up with wood and charcoal in the olden days, but these days use gas. It's then placed in a large, wooden 'handai' serving plate — just the way the ancestors did it. It's a painstaking procedure requiring about an hour of steady simmering, and the amount that can be produced at one time is limited. Yoshihiro Kobayashi says the closest equivalent in the West is jam. To be eaten the right way Tsukudani is a prime example of how Japan, despite its high-tech modernity and an economy driven by global corporates like Toyota and Sony, maintains traditions passed down over generations, much of them through small businesses. Although the basic way to eat tsukudani is with a bowl of hot rice, often served with miso or soy-bean paste soup, it also makes a good snack with sake. Tsukudani can also be used as filling for rice balls or as an easy side dish for 'bento,' or packed lunch, and it makes for a good topping on 'chazuke,' which is rice with hot green tea poured over it. Overall, rice is tudkudani's best pairing. Tsukudani ice cream or tsukudani potato chip isn't the direction to go, Kobayashi said. If it's not eaten the right way, it won't taste good. The novelty comes with communicating that basic message to people — foreigners and younger Japanese alike — who might not even know what tsukudani is. Noriko Kobayashi, who is not related to the tsukudani makers, runs a tiny store in Tokyo that sells artwork, wooden figures, patterned clothing and other knickknacks from Africa, Scandinavia and other faraway places. She said she likes to eat seaweed tsukudani with cheese, while sipping on sake, usually for dinner. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'It's nothing special,' she said, noting she's been eating it since childhood. Now that she's older, she appreciates the way it aids one's intestines. 'It's a kind of health food,' she said. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads:
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Why Takeru Kobayashi no longer competes in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2022 and has been updated. Once a staple of the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- from his record-setting debut in 2001 until his final competition more than a decade ago -- Takeru Kobayashi has since faded from the consciousness of fans of the event (or people who watch because what else is on TV?). It's easy to assume that someone who has held over a dozen competitive eating records and once won the Nathan's contest six consecutive times simply got tired of shoving damp buns and franks down his throat and that's why he hasn't participated for so long. But his absence from the contest since 2010 — prior to his official retirement from competitive eating in 2024 — is actually a lot deeper. Although Kobayashi announced his retirement in a documentary released in 2024, he competed against Joey Chestnut in hot dog eating contest for a Netflix special in September that year. Chestnut won. More via USA TODAY Sports from 2024 on Kobayashi's retirement: "I've decided to retire from competitive eating. It's all I've done for the last 20 years," Kobayashi, 46, announced in Netflix's "Hack Your Health - The Secrets of Your Gut," a documentary film that explores how food, the digestive system and gut health relates to overall well-being. Kobayashi said decades of overeating for sport has left him with no appetite or no sensation of fullness, which his wife Maggie James said has caused Kobayashi to go days without eating anything at all. But let's dig into some history before his retirement. According to a New York Times report, Kobayashi had a dispute with Major League Eating (MLE), the sanctioning body of the Nathan's Famous contest and others, over the exclusivity of its contracts. They reportedly restricted MLE signees from earning money outside of MLE and competing in non-MLE events, and gave MLE "exclusive representative" rights to negotiate revenue opportunities -- of which it would earn 20% -- on behalf of its performers. Kobayashi's refusal to sign the contract in 2010 resulted in his not being able to participate in MLE contests, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July contest. That didn't stop him from showing up as a spectator in 2010, but that's when things really got real. Apparently spurred by chants from those in attendance, Kobayashi jumped on stage, hoping officials would allow him to compete. Instead he was arrested, never to take a Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest stage again. So there you have it. That's why you haven't seen or heard from Kobayashi for so long and probably shouldn't expect to see him this Fourth of July.
