【Reading】えどまえすし

【English Name】Edomae-sushi

Edomae sushi is a sushi culture born in Edo centered on nigiri sushi. In its limited sense, it refers to sushi made with seafood landed along the shores of Tokyo Bay or by classical methods up until the early Meiji era; understood more broadly, it encompasses sushi in general served at nigiri sushi restaurants.

Its origins go back to the Bunsei era, between 1818 and 1831, with Hanaya Yohei of Ryogoku and Matsunozushi of Ataka (Sakaiya Matsugoro) being its pioneers. At first it was mainly stand-up eating in a food-stall format, and a single piece is said to have been two to three times the size of today's.

Because it was a product of an era without refrigeration equipment, a culture of "shigoto" (handwork) took root, in which processing such as vinegar-curing, soy sauce marinating (zuke), simmering, and blanching was added to the toppings. The vinegar used for the rice also gradually shifted from the rice vinegar of the early days to lees vinegar (red vinegar).

Triggered by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, many artisans moved to the Kinki region, and the postwar consignment-processing system further propelled it, so that Edomae sushi permeated all of Japan and beyond. Possessing diverse forms such as nigiri, nori rolls, chirashi, and inro-zushi, the gunkan-maki is said to have been created in 1941 at Kyubey in Ginza.