【Reading】きょうずし

【English Name】Kyo-zushi (Kyoto-style sushi)

Kyo-zushi is a general term for sushi that developed uniquely under the geographical conditions of Kyoto, far from the sea. Owing to the local circumstance of difficulty obtaining fresh seafood, vinegar-cured or heated toppings were used, and pressed sushi, bo-zushi, and box sushi with excellent keeping quality became central.

The representative saba-zushi is said to have been born because mackerel landed in Wakasa Bay was salted and reached just the right seasoning by the time it was carried to Kyoto, and this transport route is known as the "Saba Kaido" (Mackerel Highway). There was a custom of making it at home for special days such as the Gion Festival and the Aoi Festival.

For box sushi, whereas Osaka mainly uses conger, Kyoto characteristically uses minced pike conger (hamo). For rolled sushi, thick rolls are mainstream in Kansai, and in temple-rich Kyoto it is said to have spread from the custom of distributing vegetarian rolls (shojin-maki) for Buddhist memorial services. Inarizushi, unlike the bale shape of Kanto, is triangular, said to mimic the ears of the fox -- the messenger of the Inari deity -- or Mount Inari.

The winter seasonal treat mushi-zushi (steamed sushi) is a warm sushi in which kinshi tamago (shredded egg) is placed atop vinegared rice mixed with shiitake, kanpyo, grilled conger, and the like, then steamed. Also, temari-zushi is made small so that maiko can eat it without opening their mouths wide.

Compared to Edomae sushi, it employs the device of using more sugar in the vinegared rice and forming the nigiri after thoroughly cooling, so that the taste does not deteriorate even as time passes. It is a sushi culture unique to Kyoto that achieves both gorgeous coloring and keeping quality.