【Reading】しらいしよしあき

【English Name】Shiraishi Yoshiaki

Yoshiaki Shiraishi (November 22, 1913 - August 29, 2001) is widely known as the Japanese entrepreneur who brought conveyor-belt sushi (kaiten-zushi) into the world.

Shiraishi, who ran a standing-style sushi shop in Osaka, took note of the workings of a moving belt conveyor when he visited the Asahi Beer Suita factory. As a means of efficiently serving sushi to many customers, he arrived at the idea of a conveyor-style dining table.

In 1958, near the north exit of Kintetsu Fuse Station in Fuse City, Osaka Prefecture (present-day Higashiosaka City), the world's first conveyor-belt sushi shop "Genroku Sushi" came into being. On December 6, 1962, his utility model was approved under the name "conveyor-equipped cooking dining table" (konbea-tsuki chori shokudai) and registered as registration number 579776.

Until 1978, while this utility model remained in effect, the conveyor-belt sushi business style was a form permitted only to the Genroku Sushi chain. With the expiration of the rights, a variety of operators entered the market, and conveyor-belt sushi spread throughout Japan. The idea Shiraishi created left a tremendous mark on the popularization of sushi and the innovation of the food-service industry.