Kyoto vegetable cuisine (kyo-yasai ryori) celebrates heirloom local produce — Kamo eggplant, Kujo leeks, Mizuna greens.
Shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian) is a related tradition. Try Shigetsu at Tenryu-ji in Arashiyama for a temple-cooked vegan kaiseki.
Menus change with the season — that's the point. Spring bamboo shoots, summer matsutake, fall persimmon, winter daikon.