Hirokazu Nakai

Asuka was Japan's political and cultural center in the 6th–7th centuries CE, before the capital moved to Nara and then Kyoto. Nakai's concept — Italian cooking rooted in Nara's earth — is a profound statement: the same soil that nurtured Japan's earliest civilization now grows the vegetables for a contemporary Italian restaurant in a 100-year-old ancestral home.

Hirokazu Nakai was born in Asuka, Nara — 'the place where Japan began' — in a century-old townhouse by the ruins of Kawara-dera Temple. This same historic building now houses Da Terra (Italian: 'from the earth'), his Michelin-starred Italian restaurant that connects Italian culinary philosophy to the ancestral soil of ancient Yamato.

Asuka, Nara, Japan — born in Japan's ancient capital region; trained in Italian cuisine, connecting Italian tradition to Nara's soil

Career

• Chef at Italian restaurants in Japan and Italy, Japan / Italy (2000s–2010s)
• Owner-Chef at Da Terra, Asuka, Nara (2015–present)

Mentored by Italian culinary tradition; Asuka valley agricultural heritage.