The original type of sushi, known today as
nare-zushi (馴れ寿司, 熟寿司), was first developed in Southeast Asia, before introduction to
Japan.
[1] [2] Fish was salted and wrapped in fermented rice, a traditional lacto-fermented rice dish.
Nare-zushi was made of this gutted fish stored in fermented rice for months at a time for preservation. The fermented rice was discarded and fish was the only part consumed. This early type of sushi became an important source of protein for the Japanese. The Japanese preferred to eat fish with rice, known as
namanare or
namanari (生成, なまなれ, なまなり).
During the
Muromachi period
namanare was the most popular type of sushi.
Namanare was partly raw fish wrapped in rice, consumed fresh, before it lost its flavor. This new way of consuming fish was no longer a form of preservation but rather a new dish in Japanese cuisine.
During the
Edo period, a third type of sushi was introduced,
haya-zushi (早寿司, 早ずし).
Haya-zushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time, and the dish became unique to
Japanese culture. It was the first time that rice was not being used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar, with fish, vegetables and dried foodstuff 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.
When
Tokyo was still known as
Edo in the early 1800s, mobile food stalls run by street vendors became popular. During this period
nigiri-zushi (握り寿司) was introduced, consisting of an oblong mound of rice with a slice of fish draped over it. After the
Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, nigiri-sushi chefs were displaced from Edo throughout Japan, popularizing the dish throughout the country.
Today the sushi dish internationally known as "sushi" (
nigirizushi;
Kantō variety) is a
fast food invented by
Hanaya Yohei (華屋与兵衛;
1799 -
1858) at the end of
Edo period in today's
Tokyo (
Edo). People in Tokyo were living in haste even a hundred years ago. The
nigirizushi 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 in public or in the theater.
[edit] Funazushi
Funazushi is a rare type of nare-zushi still prepared near
Lake Biwa,
Shiga Prefecture. Eighteen generations of the Kitamura family have been preparing the dish at Kitashina since 1619.
[3]
Fresh
funa (
crucian carp from the lake) are scaled and gutted through their gills keeping the body (and often the
roe) of the fish intact. The fish are then packed with salt and aged for a year before being repacked annually in rice for up to four years. The resulting fermented dish may be served sliced thin or used as an ingredient in other dishes.
[4][5]
Sushi in Japan
The earliest reference to
sushi in Japan appeared in
718 in the
Yōrō Code (養老律令
Yōrō-ritsuryō). As an example of tax paid by actual items, it is written down as "雑鮨五斗 (about 64 liters of zakonosushi or zatsunosushi?)". However, there is no way to know what this "sushi" was or even how it was pronounced. By the 9th and 10th century "鮨" and "鮓" are read as "sushi". This "sushi" was similar to today's
Narezushi.
For almost the next 800 years, until the early 19th century, sushi slowly changed and the
Japanese cuisine changed as well. The Japanese started eating three meals a day, rice was boiled instead of steamed, and most important of all,
rice vinegar was invented. While sushi continued to be produced by fermentation of fish with rice, the time of fermentation was gradually decreased and the rice used began to be eaten along with the fish. In the
Muromachi Period (
1336 to
1573), the process of producing
Oshizushi was gradually developed where in the fermentation process was abandoned and vinegar was used. In the
Azuchi-Momoyama period (
1573 -
1603),
namanare was invented. A
1603 Japanese-Portuguese dictionary has an entry for
namanrina sushi, literally
half-made sushi. The namanare was fermented for a shorter period than the narezushi and possibly marinated with rice vinegar. It still had the distinctive smell of narezushi.
The smell of narezushi was likely one of the reasons for shortening and eventually skipping the fermentation process. It is commonly described as "a cross between
blue cheese, fish, and rice vinegar". A story from
Konjaku Monogatarishū written in early 12th century makes it clear that it was not an attractive smell, even if it tasted good: In the early 18th century,
oshizushi was perfected in
Osaka and it came to
Edo by the middle of 18th century. These sushi were sold to customers, but because they still required a little fermentation time, stores hung a notice and posters to customers on when to come for a sushi. Sushi was also sold near a park during a
hanami period and a theater as a type of
Bento. Inarizushi was sold along oshizushi. Makizushi and Chirashizushi also became popular in Edo period.
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. Nigirizushi was an instant hit and it spread through Edo like wildfire. In the book
Morisadamanko (守貞謾稿) published in 1852, the author writes that for a
cho (100 meters by 100 meters or 10,000 square meters) section of Edo there were one or two sushi restaurants, but that only one
soba restaurant could be found in 1 or 2 cho. This means that there were nearly 2 sushi restaurants for every soba restaurant.
These early nigirizushi 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. Each piece was also larger, almost the size of two pieces of today's sushi.
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
Today sushi is consumed by millions of people across the world. I love to eat sushi and so do many of my friends. In the Twin Cities there is a group called " I can't Eat Enough Sushi", this is a fun group. We go try different sushi restaurants once a month. I enjoy this group people we all share one thing in common we like to eat Sushi!
I plan to eat sushi next week with a group of sushi loving friends!
Enjoy your Saturday and maybe you will be luck to eat some sushi today :)
Lucy's Mama
