i. Biography
At Chihana in Kyoto, Japan, Katsuyoshi Nagata’s formation begins inside a family house: the restaurant was opened by his father, and Nagata became its second-generation chef. He took over from his late father in 2006, carrying that inheritance as Executive Chef and shaping a Kyoto kaiseki table where continuity and authorship meet.
The Training The discipline around Nagata is kaiseki cuisine, specifically Classic Kyoto cuisine, practiced through a sequence that remains classical and a tempo that stays measured and traditional. Each day’s cooking begins with carefully selected, seasonal, fresh ingredients, chosen for delicate Kyoto kaiseki rather than display alone. At the restaurant, sourcing is treated with unusual care, and the food is judged across colour, presentation, texture and taste. Precision matters in the cooking, but so does the vessel: courses are served in antique wares, keeping the meal close to the older visual language of the table.
The Lineage Lineage at this table is exact, not ornamental. Three signature dishes remain unchanged from Nagata’s father’s time: fresh yuba, the rice course using sticky rice, and a glass of freshly squeezed juice to complete the meal. Those dishes hold the family line in place, course by course, without asking the second generation to erase the first. Around them, Nagata’s own hand is clear: every dish other than the three inherited signatures has been created by him. The result is a rare kind of authorship, one that does not break with the father’s house but writes new work around the dishes that still carry his presence.
The Table The cooking is known for appetizers that mix seasonal fruits, such as mangoes, with seafood, bringing seasonal flavor and a zesty sourness into the opening movements of the meal. That brightness sits within a larger structure of Classic Kyoto cuisine, where taste, colour, texture and presentation are held in careful balance. Recognition has followed the work: the Michelin Guide has awarded three stars to the Kyoto restaurant. Opinionated About Dining gave it a Highly Recommended listing in 2023; Opinionated About Dining’s Leading Restaurants in Japan ranked it #221 in 2024; and the Opinionated About Dining Japan ranking placed it at #240 in 2025.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Katsuyoshi
Who has Katsuyoshi Nagata mentored?
The named culinary line around him is familial, passing from the father who opened Chihana to Nagata as its second-generation chef.
Who did Katsuyoshi Nagata train under?
The formative figure named in his story is his late father, from whom he took over the restaurant in 2006.
Where did Katsuyoshi Nagata study or apprentice?
The place tied to his formation is the Kyoto restaurant opened by his father, where he later became Executive Chef.
