The History and Evolution of Sushi

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Three types of dishes that best represents Japanese cuisine are sushi, tempura, and sukiyaki. Among them, sushi is the king of kings. Despite this, not many know that sushi originated from pickles. There is a long history of evolution from Narezushi (fish based fermented sushi) to the Komezushi (rice based sushi) that we know today.

During the various stages of development, sushi that incorporated local differences in taste was created. In that sense, we can say that sushi represents the varying climate and characteristics of many diverse regions in Japan.

The first kind of sushi (Narezushi) was introduced from China to Japan at around 8^th century AD along with rice farming. Initially Narezushi was a kind of pickle. Salted sweet fish was laid in a wooden bucket filled with rice and were left to ferment for six to twelve months. During the fermentation process, the starch in the rice changes to lactic acid resulting in a unique sourness. The rice decomposed and only the fish was left for consumption.

Later on people started to eat slightly sour rice before it decomposed. At this stage, the fish was partially raw so people called it Namanare (Nama means raw). During the Muromachi period, (approximately 1336 to 1573) people mostly ate Namanare.

Different kinds of Namanare were created at that time and different parts of Japan had their own unique styles. A few examples are Suzumezushi (Namanare of young mullet) of Osaka, Tsurubeizushi (Namanare of sweet fish) of Yoshino, and Sabazushi (Namanare of mackerel) of Kishu. Kishu’s Sabazushi were made by wrapping mackerel and rice with a reed or persimmon leaf and letting it sit for 1-3 weeks.

During the Edo era (the early modern period, 1603 to 1868 in Japan), a third type of sushi was introduced, haya-sushi. Haya-sushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time, and the dish became unique to the Japanese culture. It was the first time that rice was not being used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar. Fish, vegetables and dried preserved foods would be added. This type of sushi is still very popular today. Each region utilizes local flavors to produce a variety of sushi that has been passed down for many generations.

Examples of Haya-zushi are, but not limited to, Inari-sushi (vinegary rice ball wrapped in a bag of fried bean curd seasoned with sugar and soya sauce), nori-maki’s (called maki-sushi in the Kansai region) and chirashi-sushi (garnished sushi rice with assorted seafood and vegetables).

Hand formed sushi called nigiri-sushi were created during the mid Edo period. It is called Edomae sushi (Tokyo style sushi) Edomae literally means the sea in front of Edo (Tokyo), and actually refers to the body of water extending along the cities of Shiba and Shinagawa. Fish caught in that region was called Edomae-san and the freshness was greatly sought by the people there. People in Edo (Tokyo ) were known to be short tempered .

They couldn’t wait till sushi was firmly box pressed or garnished , they simply placed a slice of fish meat on top of the vinegary rice and Edomae sushi was born. It is said that a man named Hanaya Yohei was the pioneer of the Nigiri-sushi (hand formed sushi).

The nigiri-sushi invented by Hanaya was not fermented and could be eaten using the fingers or chopsticks. It was an early form of fast food that could be eaten at a road side.

There were three famous sushi restaurants in Edo, Matsunozushi (松之鮨), Yoheizushi (興兵衛鮓), and Kenukizushi (けぬき寿し) but there were thousands more sushi restaurants. They were established in a span of barely twenty years at the start of the 19th century. Nigiri-sushi was an instant hit and it spread through Edo like wildfire.

These early nigiri-sushi were not identical to today’s varieties. Fish meat was marinated in soy sauce or vinegar or heavily salted so there was no need to dip into soy sauce. Some fish was cooked before it was put onto a sushi. This was partly out of necessity as there were no refrigerators.

The advent of modern refrigeration allowed sushi made of raw fish to reach more consumers than ever before. The late 20th century saw sushi gaining in popularity all over the world.

Happy cooking,

Daisuke Tanabe

I would like to welcome Chef Daisuke Tanabe to the blogging platform, he has over 12 years experience in the field of Japanese cuisine having worked in Malaysia and Japan alike. Chef Daisuke has been focusing on fine tuning his skills in classic Japanese cuisine. He is extremely dedicated to his chosen profession. It is assured that his determination along with his sincere passion for food will bring great things to him in the not too distant future.

Chef Matthew J.G

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