Traditional Japanese cuisine originally had no concept of a Western-style appetizer.
What most closely resembles an appetizer in Japanese cuisine is hassun, a course in kaiseki that expresses the season through a carefully composed selection of small dishes.

It was Kitaōji Rosanjin who first introduced the idea of an ‘appetizer’ in Japanese dining at Hoshigaoka Saryō.
It is said that Rosanjin’s approach to creating appetizers began with the principle of using every ingredient to its fullest.
This was not an act of frugality, but a philosophy rooted in respect—never wasting what nature provides.

For example, when preparing sashimi, small trimmings inevitably remain.
By lightly salting these pieces and curing them with kelp (kombu-jime), they could be transformed into a refined dish in their own right.
Rather than purchasing ingredients specifically for appetizers, Rosanjin focused on thoughtful presentation and color, harmonizing vegetables, fish, and meat, and balancing flavors—sweet, salty, sour, and savory—within a single composition.

Kitaōji Rosanjin is regarded as one of the last great culinary masters of the Shōwa era, a figure who fully embodied the spirit of Japanese and kaiseki cuisine.
His cooking philosophy seems to offer a quiet yet profound message to modern Japanese cuisine, which often risks excess in an age of abundance.

A letter written by Rosanjin

Here is a letter in which Rosanjin wrote about his philosophy of cooking.

“If the ingredients are humble, one should prepare them in a way that brings out their true worth;
if the ingredients are fine, one must take care not to diminish their quality.
To create good food in this way brings brightness to life.

More proactively, one learns to draw deliciousness from modest ingredients,
or to create simple, unpretentious dishes even from costly materials.
Such understanding naturally comes with continued learning and experience.”