12/10/2023 0 Comments Bar katana kitten![]() Six months in, he was promoted to head bartender under the tutelage of his first bartending sensei, Antonio Suzuki, in the restaurant’s cigar bar. He applied, was accepted, and found himself cleaning the bathrooms, polishing the silverware and setting up the tables. I got so much from them.” While delivering pizzas in Tokyo, Masa found a job advert for a role at Shibuya’s Tableaux. As Masa explains, “mentorship is very important because all these people came before me, brought me up to where I am today, everything is kind of traced back to what they told me. In chapter two of Masa’s story, we explore the importance of Sensei and mentorship. Nostalgic, tasty, and not quite as simple as it looks. In an ode to his grandparents and the paddy fields they loved, Masa combines Haku Vodka - made from Japanese rice - with pear, pandan, lemon, and Calpico - a Japanese milk-based soft drink that harks back to his childhood - finished with a lava salt rim. In my case, it’s my daughter, my precious daughter, walking her to school, that’s my ikigai.” To represent the concept of ikigai, Masa has created the Panda Fizz. I wish I could tell them how grateful I am. I'm very lucky to get to do what I love, and I have to give that credit to my grandparents. When I go home and walk into my grandparent’s house, I can still see what they achieved. ![]() I always found them in the field working from before I woke up to past sunset. “As a kid, it's beautiful to have both grandparents nearby. Masa explains, “The word ‘ikigai’ means something you live for, something that drives you and gives you excitement for the new day.” For Masa, growing up in the countryside with his family gave him an early insight into the importance of finding something you love. As Masa explains, “as a host, welcoming people into your house, into the bar, really paying attention to the guest, and making sure they leave happy, that's omotenashi to me.” IKIGAI - 生きがいĬhapter one of Masa’s story is centred around the idea of Ikigai. Combining them means every service is from the bottom of the heart – honest, no hiding, no pretending. ‘Omote’ means ‘public face’ – an image you wish to present to outsiders. ![]() Omotenashi is the combination of two ideas. Through the overarching theme of Omotenashi, we’ll be learning about the Japanese concepts of Ikigai, Sensei, Kodawari, and Shokunin, picking up tips, techniques, and a few cocktails on the way. Join us on an exploration of Japanese hospitality with House of Suntory as we chart Masa’s rise to success, from his grandparent’s paddy fields to his home in Brooklyn, where he lives with his wife and daughter. At the centre of it all is Masa, with his signature smile and hachimaki, working to ensure that every guest leaves happier than when they arrived. The combination of Japanese culture and American influence can be found everywhere - in a boilermaker of Budweiser and Toki Whisky, buffalo tofu fingers served with dashi buttermilk ranch, and an Amaretto Sour made with American rye, salted plum and Yukari. Japanese film posters adorn the walls next to Americana trinkets behind a bamboo-fronted bar, with dollar bills affixed to Japanese hanging lights. Drinks are innovative yet simple with highballs and martinis at the forefront, served alongside dishes inspired by Masa’s grandmother’s recipes. A roaring success, Katana Kitten was listed as 16th Best Bar in the World 2020, and named America’s Best New Bar 2019 by Tales of The Cocktail. Opened in 2018, Katana Kitten is Masa distilled - fun, welcoming, and impossible not to love. Multi-talented and notoriously charismatic, Masa’s unique style of hospitality sees him combine his experiences of growing up in Minowa - a small idyllic town in Japan's Nagano Prefecture - with his time spent in Tokyo and thirteen years of calling NYC his home. ![]() He opened his own bar, Katana Kitten, in New York’s Greenwich Village two decades later. Masa Urushido began his career in hospitality on a bike, delivering pizza through the streets of Tokyo. SIGN IN OR SIGN UP FOR EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THE OMOTENASHI SERIES!
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