SHIZUO TSUJI (1935-1993) was the former head of the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, the largest school training professional chefs in Japan. The author of over 30 books on gastronomy, travel and music, he was a leading figure in the international culinary community. Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art was instrumental in popularizing Japanese cuisine in the West. Tsuji was also the author of Kodansha’s bestselling Practical Japanese Cooking.