【Reading】すしきりまつり

【English Name】Sushi Kiri Matsuri

In the Tango region of northern Kyoto Prefecture, a custom is handed down of dividing barazushi (scattered sushi) served in a shallow wooden box called a matsubuta into square individual portions using a dedicated tool, the "sushi-kiri," a wooden or bamboo spatula. Many households make barazushi on festival days, and it is said that about 60% of families make it two or more times a year. Barazushi is also called "kiri-zushi," and the sushi-kiri and matsubuta have been handed down as tools unique to the region. In the Kujukuri Plain of Chiba Prefecture there is a local dish called "futomaki matsuri-zushi," in which thick rolls whose cross-sections reveal flowers and patterns are sliced and served at ceremonial occasions. Its origin is said to go back to the Edo period, and there is also a theory that onigiri and mehari-zushi were its prototypes. --- 254 characters