
There are two kaiseki, spelled differently 懐石・会席
懐石 is the tea-ceremony meal — Daijisen derives the name from a warmed stone tucked into the robe, food enough to take the edge off hunger, served before tea. 会席 is banquet cooking that grew around sake parties from Edo on, and which the dictionary calls the mainstream of Japanese cuisine today. Most restaurant “kaiseki” is the second.
Digital Daijisen (Kotobank)
