“Not a single Western food has a color that could be called beautiful-the only exception I can think of are salad and radishes. I’m in no position to speak of its nutritional vale, but to the artist’s eye it is a thoroughly uncivilized cuisine. On the other hand, artistically speaking, everything on a Japanese menu, from the soups to the hors d’oeuvres to the raw fish, is beautifully conceived. If you did no more than gaze at the banquet tray set before you at an elegant restaurant, without lifting a chopstick, and then go home again, the feast for the eyes would have been more than sufficient to make the visit worth your while.”
Natsume Sōseki, “Kusamakura”, 1906.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 