Kiyoshi’s first generation, Tatsu Kobayashi, was born in 1914 as the eldest daughter of the Western restaurant ‘Kaishintei’ in Tamanoi. It was a place connected to Kafu Sanjin, and the world of illustrations by Sohachi Kimura was expanding there. In fact, it seems that great writers such as Kafū also frequented the area. After the war, we moved to Mukojima and opened our business in 1948 under the name ‘Kiyoshi’. Since then, we have operated a restaurant in this location for over 70 years, with the building still intact. In the early 1960s, there were more than 100 restaurants and waiting rooms on Mukojima, but now the number is about 10, even though Karyukai (so called Geisha town) is the largest in Tokyo. We are grateful that we have been able to continue doing business under these circumstances, and it is entirely due to the patronage of our customers. We hope that you can experience the elegance and atmosphere of downtown Tokyo even just a little bit at our store.

Third generation proprietress Ayako Kobayashi