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{{Short description|Japanese chef}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=August 2017}}
{{BLP one source|date=December 2020}}
{{peacock|date=December 2020}}}}
{{Infobox chef <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox chef/doc]] -->
{{Infobox chef <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox chef/doc]] -->
| image =
|name=Rokusaburo Michiba| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1931|01|03|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1931|01|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]]
| birth_place = [[Kaga, Ishikawa|Kaga]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], Japan
| style = [[Japanese cuisine]]
|known_for=[[Iron Chef]]| style = [[Japanese cuisine]]
| education =
| education =
| restaurants =
| restaurants = Ginza Rokusan-tei, and Kaishoku-Michiba in [[Ginza]]
| television =
| television =
''[[Iron Chef]]''
''[[Iron Chef]]''
| prevrests
| prevrests
| website =
| website =http://www.michiba.com/
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''Rokusaburo Michiba'''|道場 六三郎|Michiba Rokusaburō|born 3 January 1931}} is a [[Japanese cuisine]] [[chef]] best known as the first Japanese ''[[Iron Chef]]'' on the [[television series]] ''[[Iron Chef]]''. He was on the show from its inception in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday, January 3, 1996.
{{Japanese name|Michiba}}
{{nihongo|'''Rokusaburo Michiba'''|道場 六三郎|Michiba Rokusaburō|born January 3, 1931 in [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]]}} is a [[Japanese cuisine]] [[chef]] most notable as the first Japanese Iron Chef on the [[television series]] ''[[Iron Chef]]''. He was on the show from its inception in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday, January 3, 1996. After his retirement as an Iron Chef, he made sporadic appearances on the show, and producers even dedicated a special 1996 tribute episode to him called ''The Legend of Michiba''. Rokusaburo Michiba originally balked at his blue attire (a [[samue]] outfit with a flat cap), but was flattered into wearing it.


==Career as Iron Chef==
According to his introduction, Rokusaburo Michiba was once considered a maverick for his philosophy of "there are no borders to ingredients." Although primarily a Japanese chef, Michiba was unafraid of incorporating decidedly non-Japanese elements into his dishes &mdash; something that did not sit well with more traditional-minded Japanese cuisine chefs. Indeed, in his first battle against [[French cuisine]]-trained Kobayakawa Yousei, Michiba was given a theme ingredient virtually foreign to Japanese cuisine: [[foie gras]]. Michiba was declared the winner. In fact, of his outstanding career win-loss record of thirty-two wins, five losses, and one tie, he, arguably, can take some personal and professional satisfaction that his record against the traditionalists is a fine ten wins and one loss.
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=December 2020}}
[[Image:Rokusan-tei first course.JPG|thumb|270px|right|First course of a [[tasting menu]] offered at https://rokusantei.jp/ Ginza Rokusan-tei]]
Although Michiba was a Japanese chef, he was known for his philosophy of incorporating non-Japanese traditional elements into his dishes. Michiba was given [[foie gras]] as a theme ingredient in his first battle against Yousei Kobayakawa ([[French cuisine]] trained), which Michiba won.


Michiba's trademark was "Inochi no Dashi" (命の出汁; いのちのだし or "Broth of Vigor",) a combination of plenty of [[katsuobushi]], [[skipjack tuna]] shavings and a form of edible [[kelp]] called "[[konbu]]," which he used during virtually every battle. He is also widely credited with introducing [[mayonnaise]] into Japanese cuisine.
Michiba was also known for "Inochi no Dashi" (命の出汁, いのちのだし or "Broth of Vigor"), a combination of [[katsuobushi]], [[skipjack tuna]] shavings and edible [[kelp]] ([[konbu]]), which he used during almost every battle.


===Awards and Records===
Michiba was also skilled in [[calligraphy]], often using precious minutes, usually at the beginning of a battle, to write a menu. On one occasion, however, Michiba forgot to write a menu and lost a battle; on another occasion, he did it at the last moment and lost as well. In an episode where his sous-chef challenged Iron Chef [[Masaharu Morimoto]], Michiba explained that he wrote out his menu partly to clarify what he wanted to present, and partly to inform his assistants so that they would know which ingredients to gather and prepare. Several challengers also wrote out their menus during their battle; commentators referred to this as "taking a page out of Iron Chef Michiba's book."
Despite being the oldest of ''[[Iron Chef|the Iron Chefs]]'', he still holds the [[Kitchen Stadium]] record for most dishes in a battle: 8 (Eight).


===Hobbies===
His imaginative mind and skills allowed him to, on occasion, finish a battle earlier than expected and prepare extra dishes. Despite being the oldest of the Iron Chefs, he holds the [[Kitchen Stadium]] record for most dishes in a battle: eight. In each contest, he would also try to create one dish that an ordinary person could duplicate without specialized equipment or knowledge.
Michiba was also interested in [[calligraphy]], often using the beginning of a battle to write a menu. However, he did lose multiple battles because he forgot to write the menu, or wrote it at last moments. In a particular episode where his [[sous-chef]] challenged Iron Chef [[Masaharu Morimoto]], Michiba justified that he wrote from his (Morimoto's) menu to clarify what he wanted to present, and to inform his assistants so that they can know which ingredients to gather and prepare. Several challengers also wrote out their menus during their battle.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}


===Illness and Retirement===
Because of his age, experience, and excellent time management skills, Rokusaburo Michiba was regarded as the senior Iron Chef. His "borderless Japanese cuisine" is often not only considered to be neo-Japanese in style, but a pre-cursor to neo-Japanese cuisine.
Michiba's tenure was interrupted by an illness in mid-1995 that briefly hospitalized him, and afterwards, he began getting tired from the stress of appearing on the show and running his three restaurants: Poisson Rokusaburo in [[Akasaka, Tokyo|Akasaka]], and Ginza Rokusan-tei and Kaishoku-Michiba in [[Ginza]]. Addition of a 4th Judge only worsened the Overtime Battles.


According to [[Takeshi Kaga]], after his decision to retire, Rokusaburo Michiba vowed to recruit his successor himself. The show continued with just French Iron Chef [[Hiroyuki Sakai]] and Chinese Iron Chef [[Chen Kenichi]] for two months. [[Koumei Nakamura]] was appointed as his successor. Initially, Nakamura refused, but later on, he accepted. Nakamura's first battle was on March 1, 1996, against French chef [[Kiyoshi Suzuki chef|Kiyoshi Suzuki]]. During the introduction of the theme ingredient of the day, Chairman [[Kaga chef|Kaga]] stated that he wanted to choose foie gras because he wanted to re-create partially Michiba's first victory by using the same ingredient.
Michiba's tenure was interrupted by an illness in mid-1995 that briefly hospitalized him, and afterwards, although his cooking form was as good as ever, he began tiring from the stress of appearing on the show and running his three restaurants: Poisson Rokusaburo in [[Akasaka]], and Ginza Rokusan-tei and Kaishoku-Michiba in [[Ginza]]. It only worsened during overtime battles which were made possible by the addition of a fourth judge.
[[Image:Rokusan-tei first course.JPG|thumb|270px|left|First course of a tasting menu offered at Ginza Rokusan-tei]]


Michiba was also extremely supportive of Nakamura's successor, [[Masaharu Morimoto]], which also frequently used non-Japanese traditional ingredients. The show often referred to the relationship between Michiba and Morimoto as that between master and student, especially after an episode where Michiba flew to New York to visit Morimoto's restaurant, Nobu. Before his [[New York City|New York]] battle with chef [[Bobby Flay]], Michiba gave Morimoto a large box of [[Katsuobushi]] flakes with a hand-calligraphed message: ''"respect the old but seek out the new."''{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
According to Takeshi Kaga, after his decision to retire, Rokusaburo Michiba vowed to personally recruit his successor. The show continued with just Iron Chef French [[Hiroyuki Sakai]] and Iron Chef [[Chinese cuisine|Chinese]] [[Chen Kenichi]] for two months. But, finally, it was announced that Michiba had completed his mission with the naming of [[Koumei Nakamura]]. "All my instincts told me he was the one," said Michiba. Initially, Nakamura refused, but was convinced to accept. Nakamura's first battle on March 1, 1996 was against French chef Kiyoshi Suzuki. During the introduction of the theme ingredient of the day, Chairman Kaga stated that he could not resist choosing foie gras, wanting to relive some of the magic of Michiba's first victory using the same ingredient.


===Subsequent appearances===
Michiba was also extremely supportive of Nakamura's successor, [[Masaharu Morimoto]]. Inarguably, Morimoto took Michiba's "no borders to ingredients" philosophy to a different level. The show often referred to the relationship between Michiba and Morimoto as that between master and student, especially after an episode when Michiba flew to New York to visit Morimoto's restaurant, Nobu. So supportive of Morimoto was Michiba that, before his infamous [[New York City|New York]] battle with chef [[Bobby Flay]], Michiba gave Morimoto a large box of [[katsuobushi]] flakes with a hand-calligraphed message: "respect the old, but seek out the new."
Michiba made appearances throughout the 2012 revival ("Ryouri no Tetsujin Dream Match! World Iron Chef Live Battle Special"){{citation needed|date=December 2020}} of ''[[Iron Chef]]'' through interviews with former assistant [[Kenichi Miyanaga]], a seat on the tasting panel, and as a competitor against new Iron Chef [[Jun Kurogi]].


=== Iron Chef tie-in events ===
Michiba is 80 years old and he lives in Manhattan, New York.
In 2017, Michiba participated in an Iron Chefs All Star Dinner event in Australia’s Sydney Opera House.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-10 |title=Iron Chef All Stars Dinner 2017 to Feature Famous Chefs and Cuisine from Around the World {{!}} PRUndergroundPRUnderground |url=https://www.prunderground.com/iron-chef-all-stars-dinner-2017-to-feature-famous-chefs-and-cuisine-from-around-the-world/0097850/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.prunderground.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Career outside Iron Chef ==
Michiba was a successful restauranteur outside the Iron Chef show, operating several restaurants around Japan. The most notable of these is Kaishoku Machiba in the upmarket Ginza district of Tokyo. As of 2022 Michiba was still running these restaurants at the age of 91<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-12 |title=Where are the original Iron Chefs from the hit 90s reality TV show now? |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3181217/where-are-original-iron-chefs-now-netflix-rebooted-1990s |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref>


==Manga==
==Manga==
The manga series ''Kandō Ō Retsuden'' featured a story about Michiba in volume 2, called ''Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari''. The data collecting and organizing was made by Yasuo Negishi and it was illustrated by [[Yoshihiro Takahashi]].<ref>{{Cite book
The [[manga series]] ''[[Kandō Ō Retsuden]]'' featured a story about Michiba in volume 2, named ''"Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari"''.<ref name=":0" /> It was Compiled by [[Yasuo Negishi]], as illustrated by [[Yoshihiro Takahashi]].<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Negishi
| last = Negishi
| first = Yasuo
| first = Yasuo
| authorlink = Yasuo Negishi
| authorlink = Yasuo Negishi
| coauthors = Yoshihiro Takahashi
|author2=Yoshihiro Takahashi
| title = Kandō Ō Retsuden 2: Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari
| title = Kandō Ō Retsuden 2: Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari
| publisher = Shōnen Sunday Comics
| publisher = Shōnen Sunday Comics
| date = 15 July 1998
| date = 15 July 1998
Line 51: Line 65:


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.michiba.com/ Michiba Official Website]
* [http://www.lunaclara.com/sswt/whatever/ironchef/ Iron Chef Battle Database] {{dead link|date=August 2009}} (in English)
* [http://www.rokusantei.jp/ Ginza Rokusantei]


== References ==
== References ==
<references />
<references />

{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
{{succession box|
before=N/A|
before=first|
title=Iron Chef Japanese|
title=Iron Chef Japanese|
after=[[Koumei Nakamura]]|
after=[[Koumei Nakamura]]|
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{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


{{Iron Chef}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Michiba Rokusaburo
{{Authority control}}
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michiba, Rokusaburo}}
| DATE OF BIRTH = January 3, 1931
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michiba Rokusaburo}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Ishikawa Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese chefs]]
[[Category:Japanese chefs]]

[[ja:道場六三郎]]

Latest revision as of 15:17, 17 December 2024

Rokusaburo Michiba
Born (1931-01-03) 3 January 1931 (age 93)
Known forIron Chef
Culinary career
Cooking styleJapanese cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
  • Ginza Rokusan-tei, and Kaishoku-Michiba in Ginza
Television show(s)
Websitehttp://www.michiba.com/

Rokusaburo Michiba (道場 六三郎, Michiba Rokusaburō, born 3 January 1931) is a Japanese cuisine chef best known as the first Japanese Iron Chef on the television series Iron Chef. He was on the show from its inception in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday, January 3, 1996.

Career as Iron Chef

[edit]
First course of a tasting menu offered at https://rokusantei.jp/ Ginza Rokusan-tei

Although Michiba was a Japanese chef, he was known for his philosophy of incorporating non-Japanese traditional elements into his dishes. Michiba was given foie gras as a theme ingredient in his first battle against Yousei Kobayakawa (French cuisine trained), which Michiba won.

Michiba was also known for "Inochi no Dashi" (命の出汁, いのちのだし or "Broth of Vigor"), a combination of katsuobushi, skipjack tuna shavings and edible kelp (konbu), which he used during almost every battle.

Awards and Records

[edit]

Despite being the oldest of the Iron Chefs, he still holds the Kitchen Stadium record for most dishes in a battle: 8 (Eight).

Hobbies

[edit]

Michiba was also interested in calligraphy, often using the beginning of a battle to write a menu. However, he did lose multiple battles because he forgot to write the menu, or wrote it at last moments. In a particular episode where his sous-chef challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Michiba justified that he wrote from his (Morimoto's) menu to clarify what he wanted to present, and to inform his assistants so that they can know which ingredients to gather and prepare. Several challengers also wrote out their menus during their battle.[citation needed]

Illness and Retirement

[edit]

Michiba's tenure was interrupted by an illness in mid-1995 that briefly hospitalized him, and afterwards, he began getting tired from the stress of appearing on the show and running his three restaurants: Poisson Rokusaburo in Akasaka, and Ginza Rokusan-tei and Kaishoku-Michiba in Ginza. Addition of a 4th Judge only worsened the Overtime Battles.

According to Takeshi Kaga, after his decision to retire, Rokusaburo Michiba vowed to recruit his successor himself. The show continued with just French Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai and Chinese Iron Chef Chen Kenichi for two months. Koumei Nakamura was appointed as his successor. Initially, Nakamura refused, but later on, he accepted. Nakamura's first battle was on March 1, 1996, against French chef Kiyoshi Suzuki. During the introduction of the theme ingredient of the day, Chairman Kaga stated that he wanted to choose foie gras because he wanted to re-create partially Michiba's first victory by using the same ingredient.

Michiba was also extremely supportive of Nakamura's successor, Masaharu Morimoto, which also frequently used non-Japanese traditional ingredients. The show often referred to the relationship between Michiba and Morimoto as that between master and student, especially after an episode where Michiba flew to New York to visit Morimoto's restaurant, Nobu. Before his New York battle with chef Bobby Flay, Michiba gave Morimoto a large box of Katsuobushi flakes with a hand-calligraphed message: "respect the old but seek out the new."[citation needed]

Subsequent appearances

[edit]

Michiba made appearances throughout the 2012 revival ("Ryouri no Tetsujin Dream Match! World Iron Chef Live Battle Special")[citation needed] of Iron Chef through interviews with former assistant Kenichi Miyanaga, a seat on the tasting panel, and as a competitor against new Iron Chef Jun Kurogi.

Iron Chef tie-in events

[edit]

In 2017, Michiba participated in an Iron Chefs All Star Dinner event in Australia’s Sydney Opera House.[1]

Career outside Iron Chef

[edit]

Michiba was a successful restauranteur outside the Iron Chef show, operating several restaurants around Japan. The most notable of these is Kaishoku Machiba in the upmarket Ginza district of Tokyo. As of 2022 Michiba was still running these restaurants at the age of 91[2]

Manga

[edit]

The manga series Kandō Ō Retsuden featured a story about Michiba in volume 2, named "Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari".[2] It was Compiled by Yasuo Negishi, as illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi.[3]

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Iron Chef All Stars Dinner 2017 to Feature Famous Chefs and Cuisine from Around the World | PRUndergroundPRUnderground". www.prunderground.com. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  2. ^ a b "Where are the original Iron Chefs from the hit 90s reality TV show now?". South China Morning Post. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  3. ^ Negishi, Yasuo; Yoshihiro Takahashi (15 July 1998). Kandō Ō Retsuden 2: Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari. Japan: Shōnen Sunday Comics. pp. 101–190. ISBN 4-09-125412-8.
Preceded by
first
Iron Chef Japanese
October 17, 1993 - January 3, 1996
Succeeded by