【Reading】ごしき

【English Name】Goshiki (Five Colors)

Goshiki (also read goshoku) refers to a combination of five colors, and in the world of Japanese cuisine it is deeply rooted in the concept of "five tastes and five colors" (gomi goshiki).

In cooking, the five colors consist of white, black, red, yellow, and green. This approach to color is considered to relate not only to visual beauty but also to nutritional balance, and it has become one of the basic principles of plating in washoku (Japanese cuisine).

The origin of the five colors lies in the Chinese theory of the Five Elements (gogyo). In this theory, the five colors—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—correspond respectively to the directions east, south, center, west, and north. This thinking is reflected in the four-colored tassels suspended over a sumo ring and in the strips of paper used for the Tanabata festival.

In the world of sushi as well, the balance of five colors is kept in mind as part of assorted platters and kaiseki cuisine. For example, by combining the colors of ingredients—the red of tuna (maguro), the white of white-fleshed fish, the black of nori, the yellow of egg (tamago), and the green of shiso (oba) or cucumber—a visually beautiful plate is composed.

It should be noted that the five colors used in cooking differ in composition from those of the Five Elements theory: cooking includes "green," whereas the Five Elements theory uses "blue" and "black."