A couple months ago, my husband's mom passed away. Since then, my husband and I've been busy hosting various Buddhist memorial services for her. We held her 49th-day memorial service last week . So, relatives from Tsuzawa in Toyama where my father in-law was from, my husband's brother and his wife from Tokyo, our daughter and her family, and my husband and I all gathered at our family temple in Shiga Prefecture. We prayed that my mother-in-law would reach heaven peacefully.

After that, we had a traditional Japanese course dinner called kaiseki ryouri in Japanese. We chose my mother in-law's favorite restaurant, Uotorarou. While my husband's parents were still alive, we sometimes visited the restaurant. Since the restaurant has a quaint and charming atmosphere, my own parents and even my British friend really love there.

When we arrived, we were greeted by unfamiliar lady who seemed to be the new hostess. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the previous madam hostess I used to know.

The restaurant is housed in a building designated as a tangible cultural property—you can see the official plaque in the photo below.

I personally love this restaurant too, especially because it's filled with old, valuable porcelain. Most of them are antique Imari ware. The former owner's wife was a huge fan of antique Imari ware and I once heard these were her personal collections from the previous madam hostess.

I believe that the red plate is akae from Kutani ware.

Before this building was used as a restaurant, it was built as a hotel in the Edo period. That’s why there are so many rooms, as you can see in the photo. As a restaurant, it has a history of 170 years.

Upstairs, there is a large tatami hall with a Noh (classical Japanese dance-drama) theater.

The ceiling lights were made in the Taishō era. According to the previous madam hostess, there are no craftsmen left who can fix the lights.

The picture below shows the meal we enjoyed that day.

One of the relatives from Tsuzawa, Toyama was my mother in-law's favorite person who was her younger sister in-law. She came with one of her sons (my husband's aunt and cousin). For some reason, she and I got along with each other and became friends even though she is way older than me. Since she'd love to visit Kyoto in fall, we’re planning to go there together this year. I'm thinking to take her a guesthouse called Chourakukan. I think she'll love the place because she enjoyed Uotorarou.

Before leaving, I asked the new madam hostess about the former madam when she greeted us again. She told me that she had retired. When I heard the answer, I couldn't help but wonder how she's doing now.

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