MISONOMI representative Mitsunori Sakano is an artist and creative director who studied fine art in London where he became interested in art forms that bring spiritual richness and enhance life. He became aware of rituals which aren’t typically found in everyday Japanese life but can be integrated into daily routines with just the right balance.

Alongside his activities as an artist and creative director in Japan, Mitsunori also runs large art centers led by artists including gallery spaces, art hotels and cafes where art exhibitions mix with daily life allowing people to experience an art-centric lifestyle.

During the pandemic, Mitsunori’s interest in this crossover of art and daily life grew. Rather than creating art for art’s sake, he wanted to experiment a new form of art that could bring happiness to a wider audience during their daily life.

As people spent more time at home, Mitsunori contemplated the confined spaces of people’s homes with the limits of how much people could appreciate the joy of  beautiful artwork.  In response to not being able to visit galleries or museums Mitsunori came up with the idea of edible art that serves the dual purpose of enriching both body and mind. This edible art is unlike traditional artwork, it’s not about creating value but about the joy of creating, appreciating, and consuming something beautiful and enriching.

For his edible artwork Mitsunori considered traditional Japanese food and realized that “miso” and “miso soup” is a food that is familiar to Japanese people and one that hasn’t changed for centuries.

Although miso soup is recognized as a healthy food it’s not commonly found in Japanese restaurants that predominantly serve Western influenced cuisine. Mitsunori thought about updating miso to fit into modern daily life, not only in Japan but also in western countries too.

While abroad, there’s a sense of going out specifically to enjoy miso soup, but in Japan, most people currently prefer cafes for coffee rather than going out for miso soup.

“What if miso soup looked visually pleasing? Could miso soup become something people would go out of their way to enjoy?”  Mitsunori’s answer to this was a food project where audience could create their own miso soup, turning the ‘plain’ miso soup into a ‘delightful and enjoyable’ food, akin to creating a different painting with each serving.

MISONOMI uses white Japanese Monaka wafers made from mochi as the canvas and colorful ingredients such as vegetables seafood instead of paint. As part of the process you experience arranging the ingredients on top of the wafers and then pouring hot water over them. Then as an artist uses paint brush to paint a painting, you use a spoon to mix the softened miso and ingredients together in the hot water in an act that sees you as both chef and artist in this unique experience.

The wafers and vibrant ingredients mix into the soup floating on the surface forming an abstract painting on the surface  making each soup a unique artistic expression. During the process, “UMAMI” flavors from the freeze-dried ingredients slowly permeate the soup only then is your unique “edible art” ready to be experienced.