Yoshihiro Murata

Yoshihiro Murata, born in 1951 as the eldest son of the Kikunoi family, is the third-generation owner and chef of the renowned Kyoto ryotei Kikunoi Honten in Gion, which holds three Michelin stars, along with Kikunoi Roan (two stars) and Akasaka Kikunoi (two stars in Tokyo), totaling seven Michelin stars. After studying at Ritsumeikan University and training in French cuisine in Paris and at Kamome ryotei in Nagoya, he opened the Kikunoi Kiyamachi branch in 1976 and has since dedicated his career to promoting washoku globally, including spearheading its 2013 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription and founding the Japanese Culinary Academy in 2004.