【Reading】にぎりずし

【English Name】Nigiri-zushi

Nigirizushi is a type of "hayazushi" (early sushi) in which vinegared rice (shari) is gathered into a small mound, a sushi topping such as seafood is placed on it, and it is shaped by hand; it is also called Edomae sushi. It was born during the Bunsei era (1818–1831) of the Edo period; its inventor is said to be either Hanaya Yohei or Sakaiya Matsugoro, but there is no established theory, and its first appearance in the literature is said to be the 1829 publication "Yanagidaru." Initially it was about the size of a rice ball and sold at food stalls, and before the Taisho period a size 2 to 4 times the present was common. The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake became an occasion for it to spread nationwide, and under the 1947 Emergency Measures Ordinance for Restaurant Businesses, a commissioned-processing format was permitted, and the Edomae style was unified across the country. In 1981, an automatic shari-ball forming machine was put to practical use, and the counter word "kan" (a counter for pieces) is an expression that spread from the 1970s onward.