Before intrepidly setting out to eat our way through this brave new century, let us pause briefly to consider the state of contemporary Japanese dining. Needless to say, the situation is very different from 100 years ago, when most people were fed by itinerant hawkers, yatai stalls or simple food outlets set into houses at street level, and when Yokohama gyu-nabe, omu-raisu and other yoshoku exotica were considered the height of sophisticated dining out.
The cutting-edge Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, anno Domino 2001, is invariably housed in custom-designed architecture, usually of postindustrial concrete softened by subtle furnishings and insufficient lighting. It will be casual in mood, the service informal but never unprofessional or overfamiliar. Much like a superior izakaya, it offers a wide selection of dishes and cooking styles, not only to reflect the seasons but also to accommodate the complex whims of its predominantly young and well-traveled clientele's palates.
There are no taboos against serving foods (or drink) from outside the Japanese tradition. Yet the basic tenets of the cuisine remain sacrosanct: fresh ingredients; simplicity of preparation; and an understanding of the complex virtues of indigenous seasonings, not least the transcendental qualities of good dashi cooking stock.