The History of Sushi

The Origin of Sushi
Originally sushi was very different than what we would call sushi now. In the beginning “narezushi” was sushi pickled in salt very similar to the Japanese pickles you eat today. The fish and rice were piled alternately on top of each other and pressed with stone weights. Depending on the fermentation you could get a natural sourness. The original location of fermented sushi was Southeast Asia, China, Korean Peninsula, and then it was brought to Japan.

Fast Sushi
From the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) to the present day the original sushi form has made appearances. Performing the lactic acid fermentation process until the fermentation was complete took over several months. With the manufacturing of vinegar, fermentation by means of vinegar started to replace the old method. This is called Fast sushi. Now fast sushi has developed into the category of Kansai, an area including Osaka and Kyoto, pressed sushi.

The Birth of Nigiri-zushi-Edomaezushi
The birth of the Edomaezushi was roughly around the beginning of the Edo Period (1603-1867); presently the same sushi is produced. Edomaezushi is generally thought of as sushi fish, that was caught in Edo (present Tokyo) Maenoumi (present Tokyo Bay), however eel cuisine is the word essentially devoted to Edo Style. As for the cutting of the eel in Kansai the eel is opened from the belly, but in Edo the eel is cut down the backside, but like this Edo style is called “Edomae”. In short, Edo style sushi means Edomaezushi.

There are opinions on the formation of edomaezushi to consider, but Yohei Hanaya (1799-1858) is considered to be the main one. From 1781 temple grounds were used for the sumo tournaments to help in fund-raising, this was the rise of sumo wrestling. In 1810 Yohei Hanaya opened Yohei Sushi shop and in front of the Ryokoku-ekouin temple, present Tokyo called Sumidaku, and invented Nigiri-zushi, hand shaped sushi. In Ryogoku Temple. With the fundraising tournaments for the sumo wrestlers many people came, in dealing with the customers molding sushi in a sushi box was time consuming so he adopted the method of making nigiri sushi. Thus to spread the popularity of Yohei Hanaya’s nigiri-sushi his sushi cart become the center and it’s popularity flourished. This sushi was sold by a cart, therefore, it should be cheap, but it was not. Yohei Hanaya sold his sushi at a high price, and he taught other sushi makers his sushi recipe. At that time selling luxury items was dictated as prohibited, records of his cheating the luxury prohibition still exist today.

Yohei Sushi’s 4^th generation master’s younger brother wrote a book called Katei Sushinotsukekata- Making Sushi at Home. In the 1877 book a picture of the hand rolled sushi was drawn, since then the basic shape and material has not changed in modern day. The only change that has taken place over the years has been the size.  At that time sushi was about twice the size it is today. The theory why it was so large is said to be because the sushi cart was not very wide, and for customers to eat 10-20 pieces of sushi at an easy pace the turnover would be very slow, therefore, the sushi was made larger so that people could eat fewer sushi pieces, but still be satisfied. The sushi cart flourished at the center of in the business district, but because of the war sushi carts were gradually becoming less and less, in the postwar period the sushi cart was completely done away with and replaced with sushi shops. Two things influenced sushi shop’s counter seats. Firstly, the need to make the most of a small space, and secondly, they were influenced by the sushi carts. In Osaka in 1958 Kaiten Sushi was invented, Kaiten sushi is the name of sushi that is served to customers on a conveyer belt. By taking a common food eaten by the masses and turning into something different it became a food that was fun for families to enjoy.

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