Tenichi＝Tenka Ippin began when its founder, Tsutomu Kimura, opened a ramen food cart in Kyoto in 1971.
At that time, Kyoto was a fierce battleground for ramen, and the number of stores and food stalls were staggering. There were more shops and food stalls than there were stars in the sky. Under such circumstances, Mr. Kimura realized that he had to create “a taste that only he could create.
He studied day after day, night after night. Then, in the fourth year after he started pulling a food cart, a turning point came.
The soup, made by carefully and painstakingly simmering chicken stock and 11 kinds of vegetables, is as thick as potage and has the characteristic of being tightly entwined with the noodles. Yet, the piece was not as greasy as it looked. This was the birth of the “kottori” soup that would later become synonymous with Tenka Ippin. We succeeded in creating a taste that only we could create, which was our long-cherished wish.
The completion of the soup coincided with the opening of the first Tenka Ippin restaurant, which was not a food cart. It was 1975.
In 1982, a soup factory was built in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, and franchising began.
The expression “kotteri” for thick soup, which is now commonly used, originated from Tenichi.
The distinctive soup of Tenka Ippin has spread throughout Japan and around the world. We have also received requests from the Philippines, Indonesia and Paris to open Tenka Ippin restaurants.
Half a century after its founding, Tenka Ippin is about to embark on a new journey in search of new possibilities.
We are looking for partners to help us spread this taste around the world.