Masato Nishihara

Tsukumo is housed near the sacred Kasuga Grand Shrine, and Nishihara's menus are structured around the shrine's ritual calendar — the same seasonal moments that have governed Yamato cooking for over a millennium. Sourcing comes entirely from Nara Prefecture: Yamato-hana (Nara vegetables), Yamato beef, Yoshino cedar-smoked ingredients.

Masato Nishihara, born 1977 in Fukuoka and raised in Tokyo, opened Tsukumo in Nara to celebrate the city's 1,300-year cultural heritage through refined Japanese kaiseki. His restaurant name 'Tsukumo' (ninety-nine, meaning 'nearly a hundred') evokes the depth of tradition he explores through intensely seasonal Nara-sourced ingredients.

Tokyo, Japan — trained in Japanese and French fine dining; kaiseki focused on Nara cultural heritage

Career

• Chef at Japanese and French fine-dining restaurants, Tokyo, Japan (Late 1990s–2010s)
• Owner-Chef at Tsukumo, Nara, Japan (2015–present)

Mentored by Japanese kaiseki tradition; Nara Prefecture culinary heritage.