Hideki Matsuhisa is a native of Toyota (Japan), and since an early age he was instructed in the art of Japanese cuisine by his father, a sushi maestro and restaurant owner. 

After learning cookery at a number of restaurants in Tokyo, in 1997 he arrived in Spain and discovered the variety and quality of Mediterranean produce. This was when his idea of combining Japanese culinary tradition and Mediterranean cooking and produce began to take shape.

Following stints at a number of Barcelona restaurants, he decided to open his own business along with his wife, sister and brother-in-law. This was the beginnings of Shunka (2001), a typical Japanese tavern right in the heart of the city's Gothic Quarter; and years later a little brother appeared: Koy Shunka (2008), the more sophisticated gourmet version of the first restaurant.