soba noodles. tonight, the soba is paired up with slices of tender duck and green onion grilled over the irori. masa: nice, al dente. anthony: mhm. masa: this soba s the best soba. anthony: perfect. then topped by a warm dashi sauce made of soy, mirin, and a touch of sugar. masa: i m so glad we can share with this moment with my old friend, you know? anthony: mm. masa: [ speaking japanese ] you know what that word is? anthony: no, tell me. masa: once in life, this moment, we appreciate, respect each other, enjoy this moment. anthony: [ speaking japanese ] masa: never again. anthony: never again. masa: yeah, exactly. ho ho ho!
there, he s slicing, wasabi, make it, put it right here, eat. anthony: right. sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] anthony: japanese tiger prawn, octopus, and fluke sashimi. masa: japanese cooking, we care very much about the ki, which is fighting spirits. like this, right? anthony: mm-hmm. striped jack brushed with soy and sake. sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] masa: this moment, do not miss this. then, grab it, right? you eat. see? anthony: mm. masa: that s why you gotta eat quickly. if 30 second, one minute anthony: it s dying. masa: ki is leaving somewhere. masa: also, the fish, sushis arrive moving. swimming. very fast. done. amazing. this momentum is ended right there. it s very important.
it is a fascinating story. kanazawa is the capital of ishikawa prefecture on the west coast of honshu island along the sea of japan. it s known for its untouched by time traditional districts one of the few cities in japan left relatively intact throughout the war. it s famous for its crafts, for its beautiful ceramics in particular, but also its artistic sensibility. the way it always valued beautiful things, traditions. it s a city that helped masa, then at a crossroads, to discover a whole new world of grace, of aesthetics, of style, that affected him deeply. for most, however, kanazawa is simply a place with great seafood. masa: this is the kitchen of the, uh, kanazawa city. anthony: yeah? masa: this market is. anthony: ooh, look at that. lot of crab. masa: yeah. sea shrimp, sardine, let s go over there. anthony: okay. ooh, look at that. ooh, uni? masa: yeah. anthony: sea urchin one of
guys, the three of us were the worst. anthony: the three of you were bad students. masa: ah, really good. anthony: so you do this when you were kids? build a fire? cook something? drink sake? masa: always, always we did that. smoked cigarettes. anthony: yeah. back then did everybody know that you were not going to stay? like, when you were in high school did you talk about, when i get old enough i m going to america? i m not staying here. masa: yeah, we did that. [ speaking japanese ] yeah, i told them. anthony: now, you weren t dressed up like john wayne or anything right, when you went to school? no cowboy boots. masa: no, no. no, no, no. no. anthony: they say you can take the boy out of the country, but you can t take the country out of the boy. i don t know if that s true. we all come from someplace, that s for sure. but, new york city, in masa takayama s case, seems far,
a once-traditional farming community, slow paced, inward looking, the opposite end of the universe, culturally, from new york and tokyo, even from kanazawa. ishi: [ speaking japanese ] anthony: it used to be a five-hour trip from tokyo, now reduced to two by the shinkansen bullet train. why don t we have these in america, by the way? ask your congressmen. this rather drab, featureless place is where masa was born and raised and could well have stayed. but then, everything would have been different. masa s dad, yoshio, recently passed. but his mom, ishi, is still going strong, the center of the family. masa: [ speaking japanese ] ishi: yeah. catherine: nice to meet you! ishi: [ speaking japanese ] masa: thank you! tony, tony. anthony: pleased to meet you.