【Reading】ぐんかん/ぐんかんまき

【English Name】Warship roll / Gunkan roll

Strip-cut nori is wrapped all the way around vinegared rice, and ingredients are heaped into the hollow at the top—that is the style called gunkan-maki (battleship roll). Its appearance, reminiscent of a warship (gunkan), is itself the origin of the name.

One sheet of toasted nori is cut crosswise into three, and one piece is wound around the vinegared rice like a band. Because the top becomes vessel-like in shape, it is convenient for toppings with fine grains that scatter easily—such as salmon roe (ikura), sea urchin (uni), negitoro, flying-fish roe (tobiko), and icefish (shirauo)—and for serving dressed dishes.

In the year Showa 16, that is, 1941, at the famous Ginza restaurant 'Kyubey,' the first-generation owner Hisaji Imada devised this technique. At the time the culture of serving uni and ikura as nigiri had not yet taken root, and the method of surrounding vinegared rice with a wall of nori opened the door to new sushi toppings. However, in the sushi industry, where the old-fashioned craftsman temperament ran deep, there was much criticism, and a record remains that it was described on an NHK radio broadcast as 'like something bizarre.'

Because the nori-wrapped state holds for only a few dozen minutes, some restaurants exclude it from their delivery menus. By contrast, at conveyor-belt sushi establishments the creative spirit is abundant, and original gunkan such as shrimp-mayo, natto, corn, salad, and hamburger have appeared one after another. At overseas sushi restaurants, cases of incorporating caviar have also been confirmed.