The Tomoyoshi Endo has closed: it’s the end of an era. Was the first Japanese restaurant in Milan, hidden in a gallery of via Vittor Pisani, Central Station area, and was the last witness to the past of this area, when in the 60s and 70s this was the hyper-modern neighbourhood, with the first “skyscrapers” of Milan, home to large international companies. Even before the yuppie trend of the 80s arrived: money, success, models, sushi and cocaine. Here we ate strictly classic Japanese foodin a Japanese environment, with Japanese waiters and of course the sushi master Japanese, on sight.
Opened in 1968, Endo was taken over in the early 1990s by the sushi master Kato Shozo and his wife Masako Sato, who respected the dictates of the old owner until the last day, like in an Ozu film or in the stories of Fosco Maraini. Masako san and Shozo sensei close, but remain in Italy: their home now is the Pavia rice fields.
When did you open?
«The restaurant was opened by Mrs Endo in 1968. I came in 1980 to be a chef. In 1990, Mrs. Endo offered my wife and me the chance to take over the business and she returned to live in Japan.
How did you arrive in Italy?
«Mrs Endo looked for me in Japan. I was working in her sister’s place in Tokyo and they asked me if I wanted to come to Milan to work. I come from Sendai province, where the tsunami occurred. My wife Masako, on the other hand, is from the province of Tokyo. Japan was still a relatively poor country at the time.”
Where did you meet?
«Here, we were both restaurant employees. Out of respect for tradition and the previous owner we have continued the authentic Japanese tradition to the end. In an environment furnished as if it were a small corner of Tokyo in Milan.
What are you going to do now?
«We remain in Italy. We have a house in Pavia, near the Certosa. We have never returned to Japan in the last 30 years, the country has changed a lot. Let’s stay here.”
How have these years been in Milan?
«I started as a chef and finished as a chef. I didn’t know Italian, since I was 12 I’ve always been in the kitchen, only Japanese cuisine. There is a lot of work to do in the kitchen, all the preparations to do every morning. We are now 72 years old, in fact this year it will be 73 and we are tired. The work is hard. We have no children to leave to.”
No one to take over the business?
“Young people don’t want to do this type of work.” Masako san takes over: «It’s very heavy, it takes time to prepare. It’s the same problem that Italian restaurants, even Chinese ones, have: children don’t want to do the same job as their fathers. Today fusion is fashionable, much easier than traditional Japanese cuisine. With fusion you earn more with less effort.”
How come?
«We have always been in here, from Monday to Saturday working and on Sunday we organized and planned the shopping. Our value is our professionalism, which cannot be bought. Knowing how to cook is my value, I can’t sell it and you can’t buy it. This is why I say: “Learn, Learn, learn, you!”. We have never had a real private life. We have always been “out” in the evening, but of course here, in our club. Now I want to go out too and go to the Navigli for an aperitif. Gate open, go out, finished!
Is sushi always in fashion in Milan?
«Nowadays there are very few professional sushimen. It is difficult to find Japanese chefs and staff willing to move to Italy. Once upon a time the lira was worth little, today the yen is worth little. Now is a good time to go to Japan.”
What will you do?
«First of all we will sleep, we will eat a lot and we will go on holiday in South Tyrol. Now though, we have to empty here, by tomorrow. The world has changed a lot in the meantime. For us there were rules and traditions to respect. Children were once told, for example, that if they left over a grain of rice they would go blind. Today there is no longer any respect for these things. Today the world has changed, generation changed.”
And what will happen to this corner of Japan?
«Many say that this furniture is old, everyone wants the place to be trendy and modern. Yet it was designed by a Japanese architect, with all the styles and symbolism of our country. But today no one seems to notice anymore.”
Are you thinking of taking a trip to Japan?
«I don’t think so now», replies Shozo sensei: «We still have a lot of things to do, maybe we’ll think about it by the end of the year. This summer they are waiting for us at Lake Caldaro, to work one last season. We have a friend who has a beautiful restaurant. In that area they produce excellent wine and we are going to have excellent sushi for the last time, for excellent Gewürztraminer. There is nothing better”.
So have you always worked, even in the summer?
«Yes!», replies Masako san peremptorily. «We’ve been going there for 25 years, every summer. As soon as they reopen for the season, customers ask: when is Kato coming? It’s really nice there, nice weather. They are wonderful places.” Shozo sensei intervenes: «Milan, I’m sorry, it looks bad. When I’m there I feel good.”
