At the table of a Pure Land monk, neither meat nor fish is served, but the austere elegance of shōjin ryōri: a bowl of rice or porridge, a soup, and a seasonal side dish (ko, the "support"). Everything is counted, nothing is wasted: the meal itself is a prayer. Sweets and drink appear only on offering days (ohigan, anniversaries of Amida) when what the earth has given is placed on the altar.

Deprived of meat and fish by precept, the monk draws all depth of flavor from fermentation (kōji of miso, amazake) and the rich fat of ground sesame. These two gestures — letting rice sweeten on its own, crushing the seed into cream — are the backbone of this cuisine of renunciation that never renounced flavor.