![]() To be honest, one of the first culture shocks, in addition to working in a busy New York City restaurant bar, was on my first day at work. PENTA : What was it like moving to New York from Tokyo? Did you have culture shock? The results were splendid, playful, and decidedly Urushido, such as The Hunt: gin, vermouth, ao-togarashi chili pepper, green yuzu and koji, a Japanese culinary mold. Recently, Penta caught up with him at the elegant Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, where he had been invited to create a cocktail pairing experience with the hotel’s Botanist restaurant. Since then, Urushido’s reputation has spread far beyond New York. 14 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list that year. After a successful stint at Saxon + Parole as head bartender, he opened Katana Kitten in 2019. Still, it was a tremendous learning experience and in 2008, Urushido decided to set out on his own, relocating to New York full-time to work in the bartending industry. “But what I was doing was lots of copycat things.” “It was a big deal, writing menus,” he says. Yoshihiro sent him to New York City to pick up ideas for cocktail menus. One of Tokyo’s biggest restaurateurs, recruited him to work on some new restaurant openings. “It was about how to cut ice from big chunks, how to stir, how to shake,” he says. In his freetime, Urushido devoured the bartending manuals he found at the library. After graduation, he landed a job at Tableaux, a fancy French restaurant in Shibuya, first as food runner then bar back.Ĭocktail culture had been in Tokyo since the early 1900s, imported during Japan’s Meiji Restoration, when the country underwent a Western-style modernization campaign. At 18, his parents sent him to a private school in Tokyo. In high school, he struggled to focus, got into trouble, and eventually was kicked out. His father worked for Epson, the printing company. Weight: 0.64 Kg – 0.89 Kg (1.4 lbs – 1.The 39-year-old was born and raised in Nagano, Japan, a northern prefecture known for its ski resorts. The Wakizashi sword is one of the most popular and beloved Japanese swords. Not only because it is the companion of the katana par excellence, but also because it was a weapon closely linked to samurai rituals, such as seppuku. Throughout history, the Wakizashi has played as central a role as the Katana in Japanese conflicts. The Wakizashi is a weapon that even used to spend more time with the Samurai than the Katana itself.īoth those that were resolved on the battlefield and those that were resolved behind closed doors. It was a central piece in the life of the samurai – especially during the more advanced periods of feudal Japan. Very little is known, however, about its great importance to samurai. Many take it simply as a back-up weapon a sword in case the Katana was lost.īut the truth is that it was an elegant and swift sword, intended for other purposes. For, while the katana could be used as a weapon of battle, the Wakizashi was reserved for small isolated conflicts struggles in cities and towns, inside houses and palaces. T10 Folded Clay Tempered Steel Japanese Wakizashi Creation of the Wakizashi In this page we will take a look at the history of Wakizashi, its characteristics, and its importance in samurai life, both as a weapon of self-defense and as a weapon of honor. The Wakizashi has a long and rich history dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Japanese blacksmiths began producing these swords with the same techniques as the Katana, including the use of differential heat treatments, multiple blade folds, and tamahagane steel. With the main advantage, however, that it cost a bit less to produce a Wakizashi than a Katana, because its blade is smaller. Its objective was to be a backup weapon that would accompany the samurai in case he lost his katana in an eventual combat. Until then this place had been occupied by the Tanto, which was the backup weapon par excellence.Īt first there seemed to be no special need to use the Wakizashi sword. In fact, when it came to rivaling the Tanto, it did not seem to have so many advantages. However, it would end up replacing this as a backup weapon because of its effectiveness for indoor combat. It would be a matter of time before the Tanto was almost completely replaced, relegating its use to ritualistic or exhibitory issues rather than to a viable combat weapon for the samurai. In feudal Japan, the Katana was not only the weapon of choice, but also a sign of status. Only samurai could carry a Katana in public. Any other kind of person simply could not.
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