Yoshihiro Murata

Born in 1951, Yoshihiro Murata is the eldest son of the time-honoured ryotei, Kikunoi clan. After university, he set his sights on becoming a French chef, travelling to France and studying there for six months. Next he travelled Europe, sampling different culinary cultures, his feeling for Japanese cuisine growing throughout. Returning to Japan, he spent three years training in a ryotei in Nagoya and, in 1989, opened the refurbished and renamed Kiyamachi branch of Kikunoi -Roan Kikunoi. In 1994, he became the third hereditary owner of the Kikunoi’s main branch.