Interview with the representative of Bukkake udon, Seno Tatsuhiro
I was able to talk to Seno Tatsuhiro, the representative director of the limited company Oda Sushi, which operates Bukkake udon Iori.
The interview is based on the content from the initial interview conducted in May 2019.
Aspiring to be an apprentice to the craftsman who makes my favorite udon
Can you tell us about the background of opening Bukkake udon Iori?
Seno
Actually, I originally ran a sushi restaurant.
It is a shop called Oda Sushi, located about 2 kilometers west of Iori.
It opened in 1978, and I am the third generation.
My father, the second generation, was from Shikoku and was a big udon lover.
When I was young, he often took me to various udon shops.
Among the udon shops we visited, there was one that my father and I liked the most.
The person who had been making udon there for many years was Moriya-san.
Moriya-san had many apprentices in the past and was a udon master with many fans of his udon.
I particularly loved the dashi he made.
After Moriya-san retired from making udon, he came to visit Oda Sushi.
At that moment, I thought this might be my first and last chance, so I desperately asked Moriya-san, "Please teach me how to make udon."
Moriya-san told me, "I will make you my last apprentice." and accepted me as his apprentice.
From then on, Moriya-san came to Oda Sushi and I learned how to make udon diligently.
We visited over 200 udon shops together.
I learned from Moriya-san for about 2 years.
At first, we served udon at Oda Sushi, but gradually word of mouth spread, and many customers started coming to eat udon.
So, I thought about opening an udon shop.
At that time, there was a story about JA (Agricultural Cooperative) opening a direct sales store for agricultural products called "Kirari" in Yakage Town, and I was fortunate to be able to open a shop there.
Thus, I opened Iori in 2010.
Now, I have shifted my focus to the udon shop, and Oda Sushi operates only by reservation at night.
The teaching: "If you are going to serve something that is a failure, then do not open the shop that day"
Have there been any difficulties after opening?
Seno
Moriya-san taught me, "If you are going to serve something that is a failure, then do not open the shop that day."
In fact, a few days after opening the udon shop, I failed at making the dashi.
Following Moriya-san's teaching, I closed the shop for that day and apologized to each customer who came in.
Until I got used to it, there were many similar situations.
But now, I realize how important Moriya-san's teaching was.
Yakage Town has a long history of wheat cultivation, so udon making is also active in the area.
Therefore, especially among the older generation, there are many people who are very strict about udon and its taste.
Our shop has many local customers, and we often receive quite strict feedback from them...
In such a region, if I had served udon that was not perfect, bad reputations would have spread quickly, which would have negatively affected the shop later on.
By adhering to Moriya-san's teachings, we have been able to attract many customers from the local community.
There are even customers who come every day.
Moriya-san was a strict person, wasn't he? Do you have any memorable experiences with him?
Seno
Moriya-san never compromised on udon.
So, he taught me very strictly.
Even though I was being taught how to make udon, I was the owner of Oda Sushi.
However, from the outside, it looked as if the roles were reversed.
Also, I believe I learned not only about udon but also the basics of business.
The teaching, "If you are going to serve something that is a failure, then do not open the shop that day," is one of those lessons.
Moreover, Moriya-san never praised me.
Even after opening the shop, Moriya-san often came to the shop and provided various guidance, but I was never praised.
However, about five years after becoming his apprentice, he praised me for the first time.
People around me were astonished that he had praised me.
That is how significant it was for Moriya-san to give praise.
When I was praised for the first time, I was initially surprised by the suddenness of it, but later I felt happy.
On the other hand, I also felt a sense of loss, as if I had graduated from Moriya-san.
About two years later, Moriya-san passed away.
However, there are many fans of Moriya-san who come to our shop after hearing rumors that I have inherited his taste.
There are even visitors from outside Yakage Town and Okayama Prefecture.
I felt Moriya-san's greatness once again.
Affected by the "July 2018 Heavy Rain" but decided to reopen with the support of friends
Was there significant damage to Iori during the "July 2018 Heavy Rain"?
Seno
The Oda River flows about 100 meters south of our shop.
Actually, before the levee in Mabi Town broke, the levee of the Oda River on the south side of our shop collapsed.
Therefore, the area including our shop was affected by flooding.
Iori was submerged by about 170 centimeters.
The premises and inside the shop were filled with not only shop equipment and facilities but also a lot of mud and debris.
At that time, I was out of Yakage Town.
When I returned home, I had to take a detour, and there were many places where mud had flowed onto the road, so I remember taking a long time to get home while avoiding the mud.
My home was just about to be newly built, and I was about to move in, but the new house was flooded to the floor level, and the old house was flooded by about 60 centimeters.
Fortunately, my home did not suffer significant damage.
However, since I belong to the local fire brigade, I had a hard time on the day of the disaster due to disaster response and other duties.
While working on the water gate, there was a moment when the water level suddenly dropped.
Later, I learned that was when significant flooding occurred in Mabi Town.
What did you do to reopen the shop after the disaster?
Seno
The day after the disaster, I started cleaning the shop from the morning.
Surprisingly, friends from the Chamber of Commerce Youth Division came to help from various places in the prefecture.
About 30 people came, even from as far as Mimasaka City.
As a result, the cleaning of the shop was completed much faster than I had imagined, and it was finished in one day.
Seeing my friends leave after finishing the cleaning at night was reassuring and moving.
When I saw the shop buried in mud and debris, I thought reopening was hopeless and gave up.
However, as we worked together to clean up, when I saw the floor of the shop, I suddenly thought, "Maybe I should reopen."
For about a month after that, I helped clean up the damaged houses and schools in the local area and focused on helping with the cleanup in the neighboring town of Mabi.
After the cleanup efforts settled down, I went to work at a tempura shop at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture, run by an acquaintance.
I wanted to save up some funds to reopen the shop.
I heard that Iori used crowdfunding to support the reopening funds. How did you come to use crowdfunding?
Seno
After returning from Yamanashi Prefecture, I gradually began preparing for reopening.
At that time, someone from the Okayama Prefectural Central Association introduced me to crowdfunding.
At first, I didn't know much about crowdfunding and was skeptical, but as I listened to the explanation, I thought I might give it a try.
With the help of the person who introduced it, I was able to call for support through crowdfunding.
Then, surprisingly, we achieved our goal in just three days.
I was very surprised and filled with gratitude.
We then purchased equipment and facilities, renovated the shop, and had a soft opening in December 2018.
We were able to officially reopen the shop in January 2019.
Fortunately, none of the employees were affected by the disaster.
I am very grateful that they are still working at the shop.
I want to continue to preserve my master's taste
Do you have any future plans or aspirations?
Seno
I have been doing this not because I want to run an udon shop, but because I want to preserve the taste of Moriya-san, whom I loved.
I want to inherit the dashi techniques from my father's sushi shop and the dashi techniques from Moriya-san's udon shop, which are different.
Also, I believe that the taste accounts for about 30% of customer satisfaction.
I want to aim for perfection in the 30% of taste while enhancing the service to customers in the remaining part, so that customers can be satisfied.
For example, for those who like green onions, I add more green onions, and for those who like wakame, I add more wakame, and I adjust wasabi and ginger according to preferences, responding to customer requests as much as possible.
Additionally, I want to focus on the experience classes that I offered as a reward for crowdfunding.
Children love udon and sushi, and parents can learn to make delicious tempura, so I want to develop this as a new business that families can enjoy together.
Also, when I helped at the tempura shop in Yamanashi Prefecture, I felt the potential for inbound tourism.
I would like to focus on inbound tourism in the future as well.
Conclusion
After hearing Seno-san's story about Bukkake udon, I thought that Moriya-san's udon must have been really delicious.
Now, I can no longer eat Moriya-san's udon.
However, through Seno-san's udon, which was rarely praised by Moriya-san, I can enjoy that taste.
Seno-san says, "Yakage is a place where people are strict about udon taste."
However, the fact that the people of Yakage and former fans of Moriya-san's udon continue to visit Iori suggests that Seno-san's taste is recognized.
Moreover, Iori was affected by the heavy rain and reopened using crowdfunding and other means.
Overcoming the hardships of the disaster, "Bukkake udon Iori" continues to preserve the taste of his master, Moriya-san.
Please enjoy the udon at Iori.
Data on Bukkake udon Iori (formerly known as Teuchi Udon Iori)
| Name | Bukkake udon Iori (formerly known as Teuchi Udon Iori) |
|---|---|
| Address | 1109-1 Honbori, Yakage Town, Okayama Prefecture (inside the Kurashiki Kasaya Agricultural Cooperative Yakage-juku Aozora Market Kirari) |
| Contact | 0866-82-1221 |
| Parking | Available Shared with "Kirari" |
| Business Hours | 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
| Regular Holidays | None Closed during New Year holidays |
| Payment Methods |
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| Reservation Availability | No Experience classes are by reservation only |
| Seating | 36 seats ・Wall-side counter seats: 10 ・Window-side counter seats: 6 ・4-person table seats: 3 ・8-person table seat: 1 |
| Smoking | Completely non-smoking |
| Toilet | Western-style toilet, barrier-free toilet |
| Childcare | Diaper changing sheet Shared with "Kirari" |
| Barrier-free | Barrier-free toilet Toilet shared with "Kirari" The shop has no steps, so it is accessible for wheelchairs |
| Website | Official Facebook of Bukkake udon Iori |
