【Reading】かんかんずし/ほらいたずし

【English Name】Kankan zushi / Horaita zushi

Kankan-zushi, a local dish of Kagawa Prefecture rooted in the eastern Sanuki region, is classified as a pressed sushi made with Spanish mackerel (sawara). Spanish mackerel thoroughly cured with salt and vinegar is laid into a large wooden frame together with sansho (Japanese pepper) leaves, and layered with sushi rice. The name comes from the fact that, when a lid is placed on top and pressure is applied with wedges, a wooden mallet is struck against it with a "kankan" sound.

It is said to have originated in the Kanbe district of the former Shido-cho, corresponding to present-day Kanbe in Sanuki City, and today it has spread widely throughout the Sanuki City area. Because it is finished by applying strong pressure, it is extremely firm—said to hold its shape even if thrown. Due to this firmness, it is also known by the alternative names "katazushi" (hard sushi) and "horaita-zushi," the latter named after the gesture of tossing ("horu") and handing it over.

Because it is strongly cured with salt and vinegar and the air between the rice grains is pressed out by compression, it keeps well—said to last at room temperature for about a week in winter and even two to three days in summer. It is said that as the busy farming season approached, landowners prepared it as a meal for their hired hands. When Spanish mackerel was unavailable, horse mackerel or gizzard shad were sometimes used as substitutes.