The classic structure of a Japanese meal: a bowl of rice (gohan) at the center, a soup (ichijū, almost always miso soup), and three side dishes (sansai) — one main dish often based on fish or tofu, and two small vegetable or pickle dishes. Everything is eaten in small alternating bites, with no set order of starter-main-dessert. During the Meiji and Shōwa eras, in cultured households like Raichō's, this Japanese foundation timidly opened up to a few Western novelties (bread, refined sugar, dairy products).

Fermented soybean paste, the umami and fermented soul of the Japanese table. Present from morning to night, it connects the humblest daily meals to festive days and embodies that deep, savory, and comforting fermented taste that structures every Japanese meal of Raichō's era.