【Reading】たごすし

【English Name】Tago sushi

Tago-zushi is a form of regional sushi rooted in the Tago district of Nishiizu Town, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The Tago district is a port town known for bonito (katsuo) fishing and is widely renowned as a production area for the traditional preserved food "shio-katsuo" (salted bonito). Shio-katsuo is made by removing the entrails from a bonito, filling the belly with salt, salting it for about two weeks, then washing it and wind-drying it; since ancient times it has been used as a good-luck item for the New Year.

Bonito-flake (katsuobushi) production is also thriving in the Tago district, and the technique of processing bonito has long been handed down. Against such a historical background, it is thought that a sushi culture making use of local bonito has been formed.

Note that Tago is a fishing village of Nishiizu, and besides bonito, a variety of seafood is landed there. As a regional food culture, ways of eating such as thinly slicing shio-katsuo and combining it with vinegared rice have also been passed down.