The origin of the work kaiseki which is written with the Chinese characters for breast pocket (kai) and stone (seki) is said to be Zen priests’ custom of putting a heated stone inside their robes to keep off hunger. It originally meant a simple meal. It consists basically of rice and soup and three kinds of dishes, mukozuke (raw fish), yakimono (a grilled dish) and nimono (a boiled dish) with pickles. Now it is common for shiizakana (a side dish for sake), suimono (soup with delicacies) and hassun (a tray with mountain and ocean foods) to be added.