Jonathan Phan

JAPN 308

Dr. An Pham

12/11/17

Sushi and the World

Sushi is a popular and well-known food. It is one of the cultures that originated from

Japan and is now being served on a global scale. Sushi has gone through several different

changes until it has reached the form that many people are familiar with. Starting out as a way to

preserve fish in order to prevent spoiling before it reached its destination, two pieces of fresh fish

laid upon little balls of vinegar rice. Sushi can vary in the way it is made and what is put in it,

depending on the country it is being served in. I also believe that fishing industries all over the

globe have also been affected by the popularization of sushi. I also believe that it opened up a

way for other Japanese pop-culture to become popular outside of Japan. I believe sushi played an

influencing role globally, especially in the U.S.

I would first like to write about the origins of modern-day sushi. Sushi has been evolved

into what it is today since as early as 700 CE:

By 700 CE, for example, the Japanese began to use this Southeast Asian method of
fermenting fish together with rice, calling this newly borrowed food sushi. This early
fermented fish, now technically called narezushi in Japanese, is the ancestor of modern
sushi. Sushi evolved to its modern fresh form in the eighteenth century as the lactic
fermentation was replaced with vinegar, and again in the nineteenth century when the fish
1
began to be eaten immediately rather than waiting for it to ferment. (Jurafsky, 51)

1
​Jurafsky, Dan. ​The language of food: a linguist reads the menu​. W.W. Norton & Company,
2015.
This is the first evolution of what would eventually become the sushi that is made today. This

was originally done in order to preserve the fish to bring back ashore. Like many western

cultures that used salt to preserve meat, this process of fermentation helped keep the fish edible

until it reached its destination. This lactic fermentation would later be replaced with vinegar.

When vinegar was first being used to replace the lactic fermentation, this was the next

step in the evolution of sushi:

A new practice started: selling fish wrapped in cooked, slightly fermented rice. The
(more or less) fresh fish was consumed happily by the inland dwellers (maybe they were
not getting really fresh fish, reasoned the Osaka merchant, but if they could not tell the
difference and the rice was thrown away. Still, later, some merchant, no doubt pained to
the bottom of his soul by the wasted rice, learned to control the fermentation by use of
vinegar. A new product was born: sushi. In the Osaka original, the fish acquired some of
the favor of the vinegared rice. It was vinegared and pressed into block shapes by a
wooden form (to make it easier to pack and transport), and Osaka developed a taste for
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this new convenience food: rice and fish in one. (Ashkenazi and Jacob, 10)
What started out as a way to save ingredients, this process helped develop modern day sushi.

This is also when the popularity of sushi began to grow within Japan itself. Not only was it more

convenient to eat and sell in this form, people began to acquire a taste of the vinegar in

combination with the rice and fish. Though many believe the name sushi is describing the raw

fish, the name of sushi derives from the vinegar used in the rice, the next step in the evolution of

sushi would be the use of fresh fish, rather than the use of fermented and preserved fish.

Samurai who lived in Edo, later renamed Tokyo, lived by the seaside and knew what

fresh fish would taste like. To ensure that they were eating fresh fish, they would request that the

freshest fish that was unpickled be used. They also wanted the fish to be decorated on top of little

rice balls. Because they enjoyed the taste of the vinegar, they kept it in the rice. This is the first

2
​Ashkenazi, Michael, and Jeanne Jacob. ​Food culture in Japan​. Greenwood Press, 2003.
time we can see modern day sushi take place. From this adaption of the original pickled fish

dish, modern-day sushi was born.

Today, sushi is not only a cuisine, but it is also an art form. "Colorfully laid out on lacquerware

or multicolored plates, and, if fresh, visibly prepared by knife-wielding chefs with warrior-like
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precision and speed" (Kelts, 22) . When eating sushi, most customers’ attention is not only on

the food and its taste. For many people who go out to enjoy sushi, they enjoy watching the chef

prepare the sushi as much as they enjoy eating the sushi. Like most who never had sushi before,

many Americans did not like sushi when it was first introduced to the U.S.

“Sushi is not merely raw fish, raw being un-American, and fish being relatively low on
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Americans’ list of eating that until quite recently felt alien to most of us” (Kelts, 16) . When

sushi was first being introduced to the U.S. in the late 50's to early 60's, many Americans did not

understand the concept of sushi. I can somewhat draw a parallel with my study abroad

experience in Japan. Many of my friends believed that all I ate were burgers, pizzas, and hot

dogs because I was American. That may have been a long-standing stigma about Americans

since before the introduction of sushi in the U.S.

Another factor that helped the popularization of Sushi in the U.S. is the Americanization of

sushi. Sushi can come in three forms: nigiri, maki, and temaki. Nigiri is the form that was

adopted due to the samurais' request of having fresh fish on top of little balls of rice. Maki is

3
​Kelts, Roland. ​Japanamerica: how Japanese pop culture has invaded the U.S.​Palgrave

Macmillan, 2007.

4
Kelts, Roland. ​Japanamerica: how Japanese pop culture has invaded the U.S.​Palgrave

Macmillan, 2007.
sushi in the form of a roll.​ “The creation of the now ubiquitous California roll helped to propel

sushi forward, as crab and avocado were more palatable to Americans than slabs of glistening
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raw fish”(Bhabha, 2013) .​ ​This is what is very popular and well known here in the U.S. Temaki,

otherwise known and hand roll, is also very popular here in the U.S. A much known hand roll in

the U.S. is called the "Spicy tuna hand roll."

Creations such as the California roll and the spicy tuna hand roll are indeed different

from the traditional Japanese cuisine, but it would not have existed if it were not for the original

introduction of sushi. I feel that the need for an American adaptation of the cuisine means that it

had a big influence on the American population. I believe that there were many people who liked

the authentic cuisine wanted others to enjoy it. So with the creation of the California roll, I

believe it played a role as a stepping stool for others to begin to enjoy sushi.

As more and more Americans began to give sushi a chance, many acquired a taste for

sushi. As sushi gained its popularity in the U.S. Japan began gaining more pop-cultural

influence:

Japan's emergence on the global economic scene in the 1970s as the business destination
du jour, coupled with a rejection of hearty, red meat fare in favor of healthy cuisines like
rice, fish, and vegetables, and the appeal of the high-concept aesthetics of Japanese
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design all prepared the world for a sushi fad. (Lechner and Boli, 110)
Not only was the need for a more healthy diet in the U.S. help boost the Japanese economy, it

helped globalize Japanese popular culture. As many things that get popular, more and more

sushi restaurants started appearing all over the U.S. "US consular offices in Japan grant more

5
​Bhabha, Leah. “The History of Sushi in the U.S.” ​Food52​, Food52, 29 Nov. 2013,

food52.com/blog/9183-the-history-of-sushi-in-the-u-s.

6
​Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015.
than 1,000 visas a year to sushi chefs, tuna buyers, and other workers in the global sushi
7
business" (Lechner and Boli, 112) . Because sushi began gaining more popularity, the need for

fish such as Bluefin tuna grew.

Many fishermen and countries began having conflicts with one another for rights to fish

in certain parts of the sea. This is why many parts of the ocean began being closed off to only

certain fishermen from certain countries. With the boundary-pushing Japanese fishermen back,

Japan's fish business needed to have fish shipped into Japan. This is where many of the countries'

fishing industry begin having ties with Japan's sushi and fishing industry.

Among these workers, many of them were working here dealing with the fishing industry

here in the U.S. "Not surprisingly, Japanese demand for prime Bluefin tuna - which yields a firm

red meat, lightly marbled with veins of fat, highly prized (and priced) in Japanese cuisine -

created a gold-rush mentality on fishing grounds across the globe wherever Bluefin tuna could be
8
found" (Lechner and Boli, 110) . Even in places such as Spain, the popularization of sushi

affected its fish industry. A series of nets, lines, and buoys are part of a huge fish trap called

almadraba:

This almadraba remains in place for about six weeks in June and July to intercept tuna

leaving the Mediterranean after their spawning season is over. Those tuna that lose

themselves in the maze end up in a huge pen, roughly the size of a football field. By the

end of the Tuna run through the straight, about 200 Bluefins are in the pen. (Lechner and
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Frank, 111)

7
​Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015.
8
​Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015.
9
​Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015.
200 May not sound like a lot, but at the end of the season if the fish were kept healthy and

properly, can be worth up to 1.6 million dollars.

Because Bluefin tuna has begun to be regarded so highly due to the use of sushi, sashimi

quality tuna is very valuable. Many Tuna that would be raised or caught outside of Japan would

be sent to Tokyo in order to be graded:

On the docks, too, Japanese cultural control of sushi remains unquestioned. Japanese
buyers and "tuna techs" sent from Tsukiji to work seasonally on the docks of New
England laboriously instruct foreign fishers on the proper techniques for catching,
handling, and packing tuna for export. A bluefin tuna must approximate the appropriate
kata, or "ideal form," of color, texture, fat content, body shape, and so forth, all
prescribed by Japanese specifications. Processing requires proper attention as well.
Special paper is sent from Japan for wrapping the fish before burying them in crushed
ice. Despite high shipping costs and the fact that 50 percent of the gross weight of a tuna
is unusable, tuna is sent to Japan whole, not sliced into salable portions. Spoilage is one
reason for this, but the form is another. Everyone in the trade agrees that Japanese
workers are much more skilled in cutting and trimming tuna than Americans, and no one
would want to risk sending botched cuts to Japan. (Lechner and Boli, 112)

This means that many other countries recognize the skill and talent of the Japanese when dealing

with fish quality and handling. This might be due to the methods and mentality of the Japanese

when performing their tasks. Many Japanese exports spend their time abroad with other

fishermen. They would show these fishermen from other countries how to handle fish. Often

times it would be much more meticulous, such as wrapping the fish before sending them off for

shipping. Because the price of a cut of fish can be changed due to its grade, many non-Japanese

ethnic restaurateurs opened up a Japanese restaurant in the U.S.

"A Texan Chinese-American restaurateur told me, for example, that he had converted his

chain of restaurants from Chinese to Japanese cuisine because the prestige factor of the latter
 10
meant he could charge a premium" (Lechner and Boli, 112) . Most Japanese restaurants in the

U.S. are very expensive to dine at. I believe this inflated price helped boost the popularity of

sushi in the U.S.

Many decently priced restaurants in the states sell two pieces of nigiri for around 5

dollars, depending on what was placed on top of the rice. Also, it is common to find rolls with

the same name in different restaurants but may be made completely different with other

ingredients. As more and more custom Americanized rolls were made, the more expensive these

rolls got. Some rolls contain things from soft shell crab to highly prized caviar. In Japan, the

price to eat sushi may vary.

In my time as an exchange student in Japan, I found a type of sushi restaurant called

kaitenzushi. This would be a sushi restaurant that has the dishes arrive at the table via conveyor

belt. Often times, customers would need very little contact with an actual employee. This was a

very inexpensive sushi restaurant and is very common in Japan. A plate of 2 nigiri pieces would

cost about 1 U.S. dollar. There are of course more expensive sushi dining experiences in Japan.

This would be determined by the quality of the fish and service. While yes the cuts of fish from

kaitenzushi may not have been of the highest grade, the same grade of fish can be sold for a

much more inflated price here in the states. I found this amusing due to the fact that I have an

Aunt and Uncle who own and run a Japanese restaurant for the same reason.

My Aunt and Uncle are both Vietnamese, but they run and own a Japanese restaurant. I

use to work at their restaurant part-time, first as a busboy, later becoming a waiter. I used to

observe how the customers reacted when coming in to dine. Many of them were very fanatic

Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015
10
about Japanese culture. One of the dishes we had on the menu was fried rice. Although this rice

was not sticky, like sushi rice, many customers persisted with using chopsticks in order to eat.

This often resulted in many grains of rice on the floor. Although there were no Japanese

employees in the restaurant, none of our customers were able to notice. I believe this had to deal

with their fascination with another culture.

My Aunt and Uncle's restaurant was primarily a sushi restaurant, this is why many of the

customers came in believing they would have an authentic Japanese experience. I believe this

need for a Japanese experience happened due to sushi being so well known. However, like the

inflation price of sushi, most of the sushi dining experience in the U.S. has changed and became

more Americanized. Many traditional ways of performing tasks in Japanese culture may be seen

as unnecessary, by someone of another background, it has a reasoning like the proper way of

handling freshly caught fish.

One of the common things that I saw in my Aunt and Uncle’s restaurant was customers

that would order sake to drink with their sushi. “And a true sushi aficionado will never drink

alcohol, particularly rice-based sake, with sushi because the rice wine will spoil the flavor of the
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cooked rice” (Ashkenazi and Jacob, 132) . Since sake is a traditional Japanese rice-based wine,

many customers believed that it only made sense to order it and drink it with their sushi. But it is

this is very common in the states, and I believe this is due to the Americanization of the sushi

dining experience. This Americanization is why I believe​ sushi played an influencing role

globally. It opened the door for other Japanese culture being introduced and popularized.

11
​Ashkenazi, Michael, and Jeanne Jacob. ​Food culture in Japan​. Greenwood Press, 2003.
 If we look at what Japanese pop-cultures are here in the U.S., we have manga, anime,

food, and even music. Anime and manga alone, have a very large fan base here in the U.S. Many

people claim that anime and manga brought themselves into the U.S. by their own popularity, but

I believe this was after the introduction of sushi into the U.S.

While yes, sushi was introduced first into the U.S. before anime and manga, I do not

believe that is the sole reason for the major popularity of anime and manga. I believe many

Americans were intrigued by the idea of sushi. When the popularity of sushi began to grow, I

believe many Americans also wanted more from Japanese culture. I believe this was just like the

effect of western civilizations on Japan back during the Meiji era.

The Meiji era was the era that had followed the well-known Edo period of Japan. The

Edo period is known for the time that Japan’s culture and identity grew. This was due to the fact

that during the Edo period, the country was in isolation. “Closed Japan to all foreigners and
12
prevented Japanese from leaving” (Watts, n.d.). No outside countries were allowed in or were

able to do trade with Japan. The exception being the Dutch with the introduction of certain

studies such as medicine.

When the Edo period ended, so did the Japan’s isolation. It was during this time that

many Japanese people realized how far behind they were with other countries. They began to

reform the country in order to close this gap. “​The majority of these reforms were greatly

influenced by the West, but they never deviated significantly from Japan’s cultural and historical

12
​Watts, Sara. “The Seclusion of Japan.” ​World History​, users.wfu.edu/watts/w03_Japancl.html.
 13
roots” (Facing History and Ourselves, n.d.) . Along with creating a government system

resembling Prussia at the time, many different western culture items were imported into Japan. It

was also at this time that many Japanese people's fashion began to reflect European styles. Many

Japanese people began being fascinated with western culture and wanted more. This is what I

believe happened to many Americans as sushi began gaining more popularity.

Many anime and manga that is imported into the U.S., are culturalized so that Americans

can relate to the show easier. A famous example would be a scene from Pokemon featuring

onigiri, a triangle shaped ball of rice, and the characters would call it a donut. Although yes

many anime and manga have now been culturalized, I still stand firm that it was sushi was the

original influencer.

In conclusion, I believe that sushi has had a big impact globally, especially in the U.S. Although

it started out as a method of preservation, it is now regarded as an art form. There are many

restaurants that sell sushi, and all at different prices. One of the factors being the grade of the

fish. The grade of fish is usually determined by Japanese experts. This means that much of the

world has recognized Japan as the most skilled when grading, and even handling fish. The

demand for fish has gone up, not only in Japan but in other countries due to the popularization of

sushi. There is also a correlation between the popularity of sushi and the number of

sushi/Japanese restaurants in countries outside of Japan. Many of these restaurateurs are not

actually Japanese, but people who recognize that a premium could be charged. This may be due

to the fact that many people outside of Japan believe that sushi is nothing but an expensive and

13
​“Meiji Period in Japan.” ​Facing History and Ourselves​, Facing History and Ourselves,

www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/nation-building/meiji-period-japan.
luxurious cuisine. Lastly, I believe that it was sushi that allowed other Japanese pop-culture to

gain more popularity. I believe it was a reverse effect of what happened to Japan during the Meiji

period.
 Sources
Ashkenazi, Michael, and Jeanne Jacob. ​Food culture in Japan​. Greenwood Press, 2003.

Bhabha, Leah. “The History of Sushi in the U.S.” ​Food52​, Food52, 29 Nov. 2013,
food52.com/blog/9183-the-history-of-sushi-in-the-u-s.
Jurafsky, Dan. ​The language of food: a linguist reads the menu​. W.W. Norton & Company,

2015.

Kelts, Roland. ​Japanamerica: how Japanese pop culture has invaded the U.S.​Palgrave
Macmillan,
2007.
Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli. ​The globalization reader​. Wiley, 2015.

“Meiji Period in Japan.” ​Facing History and Ourselves​, Facing History and Ourselves,
​www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/nation-building/meiji-period-japan​.

Watts, Sara. “The Seclusion of Japan.” ​World History​, users.wfu.edu/watts/w03_Japancl.html.