Charcoal and Ceremony
A Tea Master’s Take on Yakitori and Yakiniku

On a fourth floor in Kyoto’s Shijō–Karasuma district sit Torinokoji Yamagishi and Yakiniku Yamachan — sister restaurants by Yamagishi, the culinary group renowned for translating the tea ceremony into contemporary dining experiences across Kyoto and Tokyo. On a shared level, two distinct spaces connect along a quiet corridor and unfold as contrasting expressions of the same vision — one conceived by a tea master who reveres tradition while channelling a new sensibility.
Stepping off the lift, you enter a Kyoto roji — black shikkui plaster to your right, yakisugi panels to your left, and underfoot, a doma floor of local mountain sand from Jōyō. This material interplay subtly evokes the depth and stillness of a Kyoto alleyway, guiding you onward to Torinokoji Yamagishi.
Inside, the quiet harmony of wa takes precedence — red-pine pillars rising to support a woven-bamboo ajiro ceiling, with walls of Kyoto hon-juraku plaster completing the composition. A tokonoma-inspired alcove showcases the dinnerware in daily use, transforming utility into ornament. At the centre of the counter, a bespoke roku-nabe grill crafted by a ceramic artist takes pride of place — a structural hearth that focuses the room and frames the presence of the grill master.
Alternatively, along that same corridor, an inconspicuous door hidden along the black shikkui wall leads elsewhere — to Yakiniku Yamachan, a setting both intimate and deeply serene. Here, twin tokonoma are reimagined in copper plaster with bamboo detailing — a subtle, burnished backdrop that sets the walnut counter gently afloat. The chef’s station is solid hinoki — its pale timber paired with a crisp white ceiling to let the sculpted walnut counter read first. Anchored by the same bespoke roku-nabe hearth as the yakitori counter, the setting — tea-room poise in a contemporary key — renders yakiniku composed and refined.
Yakitori and yakiniku — usually humble forms — are framed within counter settings shaped by natural materials and a tea master’s discipline, yielding a modern dining experience rooted in tradition. Here, charcoal meets ceremony, and the everyday is elevated.