Jumpei Takesako: Laughter is the spice of life
Jumpei Takesako runs a popular restaurant in Kamakura solely by himself. His menu only has one item — a Pakistani chicken curry rice that takes him three days to prepare, along with a salad side dish and a hot chai tea after meal. He has kept it that way ever since he opened Gokuraku Curry in 2014, and he doesn’t plan to change it either.
When you enter Gokuraku Curry, there is a lot to take in — the smell of spices, the bodhisattvas he has drawn on hanging scrolls, the piles of books he has read over the years… The place is full of sensorial inputs, just like the chicken curry he makes.
In this conversation with KIKITE, Takesako talks at length about how he started making curry, how he was "forced" by his master to start his own business, and what kind of atmosphere he wants to create through Gokuraku Curry.
Text: Marco Lui
Photos: Hinano Kimoto
The following is an excerpt of KIKITE’s conversation with Takesako on Jan 5, 2022. It was conducted in Japanese. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Happy New Year! Today’s the first business day of the year, and your curry sold out so quickly!
Indeed, it was a very busy day thanks to the support from everyone.
You started preparing it two days ago, right?
Yes, the curry is slow cooked over three days. Each time, I make enough for 80 people in a big pot, and I sell 30 portions on day 1, another 30 on day 2, and the remaining 20 are sold online.
“I put all my energy into this curry, and this is all I can do.”
So I was one of the 30 lucky customers today. It was so delicious, and so precious!
Because I can only do so much by myself. Also the size of the pot is fixed, and if I use a bigger pot, it will be too heavy for my back, which is already hurting, hahaha…
Why don't you hire some staff?
I don’t like ordering others, nor being ordered by others either. I think people should do whatever they want to do. I guess it tells a lot about me and why I am not suited to work in an organization… The restaurant is too small for two people anyway, we are going to get in the way of each other.
When and why did you start making curry?
For about six years, I was a buyer of handicrafts from Latin America for a Japanese import company. My wife also worked there. Then the Tohoku Earthquake struck in 2011, and we thought we were so vulnerable. We could easily lose our jobs if our company goes bankrupt or suffers some major damage.
There is a Japanese saying, “learn to do something valuable with one's hands.” Just as I was thinking about what skills I could learn to make a living, a curry shop in Yokohama that I often visited with my wife was looking for someone to help out, and that’s how it all started.
At first, I was helping out while still working full-time as a salaryman, and I wasn’t making much progress in the curry craft. I realized I had to quit my company and immerse myself at the restaurant. My master told me not to quit, but I had already quit so it was too late, hahaha… I wanted to learn how to make curry so badly. I didn’t make any money as an apprentice, but my wife was still working at the company, so thanks to her, we were able to survive.
I was at the restaurant for about a year and a half, then one day my master told me, “do it on your own and don’t come back tomorrow. Regardless of whether you can make curry or not, there are steps that you can't see until you open your own restaurant. “ I didn’t see it coming, I was shocked, and I wanted to object, but he already said so, what else could I do? I started looking for rental spaces the next day.
“Laughter is the spice of life. Without adding spices, we can prepare something like a stew. But when we add spices, it changes the taste and aroma like magic. In the same way, I think a little bit of laughter will magically transform our ordinary life.”
It’s amazing that you took action so quickly. Did your perspective change after you opened your curry restaurant, just like your master said?
Oh yes, big time! I don't have anyone else to manage my money and various contracts. I have no excuse if the quality of the curry is inconsistent. I felt for the first time that there is nowhere to hide, everything — good and bad, is on me.
When I first started Gokuraku Curry in 2014 in Yuigahama, it was very difficult. We were in the red for about two years, and I thought it’s just a matter of time when I would shut down the place. Gokuraku only has one menu item (chicken curry), so first-time customers were surprised and asked, "don't you have anything else on the menu?” or "why don’t you make a vegetarian curry?" or "you should serve more alcohol!” I said no to all of them.
Why?
Because I was told by my master, "you can't make anything but this.” To put it simply, I put all my energy into this curry, and this is all I can do. I don’t have the capacity to make any other curries at the same time.
Do you get bored cooking the same thing over and over again? Do you have a desire to change it?
No, I don't. As long as you think you're doing the same thing, you're probably not ready. Each day is different, right? The person you were yesterday is different from the person you are today. For example, the sensitivity of your tongue is different every time, every day and every second. I've been making this curry for about 10 years now, I don’t really think about how to make it. My body remembers the process, and I am just going through the motions. If I were to do it while thinking the whole time, I might realize, “Oh I’m doing the same thing.” But I am so occupied just to keep this restaurant running, I don’t have time to think.
Miso soup tastes a little different each time too, doesn't it? You don’t measure miso and put it exactly the same amount every time. Sometimes it tastes too thin or too salty. Even though it's the “same” miso soup, it tastes different every time. Curry is like that too, it tastes a little different every time even though it's from the same recipe. I don't make curry with the intention of making it as salty or spicy as the one I made yesterday. I don't try to replicate the same flavors. Maybe also because of that, I never get bored.
That's very interesting. From customers' point of view, they expect a certain taste of Gokuraku Curry, but you are saying that’s not your objective at all.
Strictly speaking, I don’t adjust the taste once the curry is made. I don’t add salt and pepper because it is a little light today. I only add everything once and I can say with confidence that I have never failed. Well, it took me three years to reach this stage. At the beginning, I was a little anxious, wondering if I could make it taste the way I wanted.
On the cover of your book, Gokurakugo, you wrote, "Laughter is the spice of life.” What do you mean by that?
We have four default emotional modes within us — joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. But laughing is not something you can do by yourself. Without adding spices, we can prepare something like a stew. But when we add spices, it changes the taste and aroma like magic. In the same way, I think a little bit of laughter will magically transform our ordinary life."
What kind of atmosphere would you like to provide through this store?
A place where no one is eating while talking about negative things, because food eaten while talking about bad things doesn't taste good. If people are talking about fun things or eating in a relaxed and happy manner, that's good enough for me.
Just like what you picked for the name of your restaurant, Gokuraku — “absolute heaven.”
Exactly.
