is he the guy that Morimoto replaced?
There were two Iron Chefs Japanese before Morimoto, Rokusaburo Michiba and Kōmei Nakamura. Both Michiba and Morimoto were considered mavericks, while Nakamura was more traditional. Kandagawa, and later Tadamichi Ōta, were portrayed as traditionalist rivals, kind of like heels in professional wrestling, to the less traditional Iron Chefs. The competed themselves, and led "factions" of other chef-competitors, often making remarks from the sidelines to goose up the drama.
