Rokusaburo Michiba

Rokusaburo Michiba (道場 六三郎, Michiba Rokusaburō; born January 3, 1931^[1]) is a Japanese chef, best known as the first Japanese chef on the popular television series Iron Chef. He was part of the show from its debut in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday in 1996.^[2]

Although Michiba is a Japanese chef, he is known for incorporating non-Japanese elements into his dishes. In his first battle against chef Yousei Kobayakawa (French cuisine trained), Michiba was given foie gras as the theme ingredient and won.^[3]

Michiba was renowned for his "Inochi no Dashi" ("Broth of Vigor"), a blend of katsuobushi (skipjack tuna shavings) and konbu (edible kelp), which he incorporated in nearly every battle.^[4]

Michiba was also interested in calligraphy and often used the beginning of a battle to write a menu. Occasionally, he would forget to write the menu or write it at the last moment, which led to him losing multiple battles.^[5] In an episode where his sous-chef challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Michiba explained that he wrote his menus to clarify his presentation and to inform his assistants which ingredients to gather and prepare.^[6]

Michiba's tenure was briefly interrupted in mid-1995 due to an illness that required hospitalization. Following his recovery, he began experiencing fatigue from the combined stress of appearing on the show and managing his three restaurants: Poisson Rokusaburo in Akasaka, Ginza Rokusan-tei, and Kaishoku-Michiba in the Ginza district. The introduction of a fourth judge also contributed to longer overtime battles.

According to Takeshi Kaga, after deciding to retire, Rokusaburo Michiba vowed to recruit his successor. 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; he initially refused but later accepted. Nakamura's first battle was on March 1, 1996, against French chef Kiyoshi Suzuki. During the introduction of the theme ingredient, Takeshi Kaga, or Chairman Kaga, stated that he wanted to choose foie gras because he wanted to partially recreate Michiba's first victory by using the same ingredient.^[7]

Michiba also supported Nakamura's successor, Masaharu Morimoto, who also frequently used non-Japanese ingredients. The show often referred to the relationship between Michiba and Morimoto as master and student, especially after an episode where Michiba flew to New York to visit Morimoto's restaurant, Nobu. Before Morimoto's New York battle with chef Bobby Flay, Michiba gave Morimoto a large box of Katsuobushi flakes with a message: "Respect the old, but seek out the new."^[8]

Michiba made appearances throughout the 2012 revival ("Ryouri no Tetsujin Dream Match! World Iron Chef Live Battle Special")^[9] 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.

In 2017, Michiba participated in an Iron Chefs All Star Dinner event at Australia’s Sydney Opera House.^[10]

Michiba has operated several restaurants across Japan, most notably Kaishoku Machiba in the Ginza district of Tokyo. As of 2022, Michiba was still running these restaurants at age 91.^[11]

The manga series Kandō Ō Retsuden featured a story about Michiba in volume 2, titled "Michiba Rokusaburō Monogatari".^[11] It was compiled by Yasuo Negishi and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi.^[12]

• Michiba Official Website
• Ginza Rokusantei