【Reading】おかたずし

【English Name】Okata-zushi

Okata-zushi is a local sushi dish handed down in the Takenaka district of Oita City, Oita Prefecture. "Okata" is a regional term meaning village headman (shoya), and the dish's name derives from this.

In early summer, before rice planting, an event called "jigoku-iri" was once held to mark the beginning of the busy farming season. It is said that the sushi originated as a dish the headman served to reward his tenant farmers on this occasion. At the time, white rice was precious to tenant farmers, and merely being able to eat sushi rice was a great pleasure.

To make it, horse mackerel (aji) is first thoroughly grilled over a shichirin or similar before the flesh is flaked. Quail beans (uzura-mame; kintoki beans may be substituted) are soaked in water overnight and then simmered slowly over low heat with sugar so they do not fall apart. These are mixed into sushi rice and shaped into bales (tawara). The rustic combination of fish and beans is its hallmark—a life-rooted sushi that makes use of ingredients readily available in the area at the time.

As farming practices changed, the "jigoku-iri" event itself ceased to be held, and the custom of eating okata-zushi has likewise declined. Today it is only occasionally seen at local farmers' markets.