Sushi: A Tale of Edo
Before the sunset Nippon Bashi was crowded. Merchants running around with expensive Kimonos. Samurai of the lowest ranks showing off their blades. One cat at the end of the street staring at the floating world. Commoners alike were enjoying the perfume coming out the food stands. Not interested in the aromas of that sunset. Not even the roasted mochi cakes covered in kinako. I was walking straight. I knew my path. It was clear in my mind. The jewel of Edo was in my plans that evening. I call it that way. Maybe I am the only one? But many would agree with me about it; something new has been born. Not like the old style. But the Edo style. Now and tomorrow. Maybe forever? And finally I reached it. Hanaya. The place, named after Hanaya Yohei. The creator of that miracle. The Edo only, Nigiri Sushi.
Made in Japan
There are hundreds of versions of the dish. When asking a Japanese about what is Sushi the common answer you could find is rice and vinegar. That is the base. Add any fish, seafood or even meet and some vegetables to make the dish Japanese and also the world loves these days. Sushi originated as a result of fermented rice what was used in order to keep fish from rotting. But in later years, before the Meiji restoration, Edo witnessed a revolution for Sushi: nigiri sushi.
Hanaya Yohei is credited with the invention. A piece of white rice sauced with red vinegar and salt with a cut of fish above. The size of the oblong of rice maybe three times what we can see these days. More salty then sweet. But using red vinegar from Aichi prefecture. Giving a peculiar color to it. Still lacking refrigeration methods, more cuts of fish were marinated in soy sauce or vinegar and salt. It is still the most common and popular type of sushi in Japan.
Sushi goes the merry-go-round way
In 1958 Japan saw the first conveyor belt sushi restaurant, Genroku in Osaka. Shiraishi Yoshiaki later took his idea to the Japan World Expo of 1970, where most Japanese saw the go around conveyor moving plates of sushi all around the seat of the restaurant. In this type of restaurant you take the dishes you desire and later the bill is based on the number of plates in your table. Different colors of plates represent the difference of price of it. This type of restaurant helped to popularize sushi around Japan and lower the price of the dish. Even by 2021 the conveyor sushi market had growth in Japan.