【Reading】ゆうれいすし

【English Name】Yurei sushi

Yurei-zushi is an industry term referring to a nigiri sushi in which the neta (slice of fish or shellfish) is cut extremely thin, so that the shari (vinegared rice) underneath shows through.

It is said to have gotten its name because the way the white shari shows through the too-thin neta is semi-transparent, just like a ghost (yurei). Generally it is an expression used to mock sushi that skimps on the amount of neta, and it is often used in a context criticizing an artisan's lack of skill or a shop's cost-cutting.

It is also said that, along with the spread of conveyor-belt sushi chains, occasions for using this label toward low-priced sushi have increased. Note that the children's-literature author Yoshie Sagawa has published a series of works titled Yurei Kaiten-zushi from Kodansha (since 2012), with Tamiko Yagi in charge of the illustrations. This is a children's story set at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant where ghosts appear, a work in a context different from the industry term.