【Reading】おかたずし

【English Name】Okata Sushi

Okata-zushi (o-gata-zushi), in which vinegared rice and ingredients are shaped into fixed forms such as squares or fans using a wooden mold or pressing frame, is a sushi form in the lineage of oshi-zushi (pressed sushi) and hako-zushi (box sushi). It has a high degree of freedom in shaping, and the orderly beauty of the finished product stands out.

In the Edo period, as haya-zushi (quick sushi) with added vinegar spread nationwide, hako-zushi developed with the Osaka area as its starting point. The Ryori Komoku Chomisho, published in 1728, contains a description of a method of pouring vinegar over hako-zushi, showing that by this era a vinegared-rice culture had already blended into the tables of ordinary people. Even before nigiri sushi appeared in Edo, molded sushi using forms had been accepted by people in various regions.

Because of the characteristic of being able to make uniform shapes in large quantities, molded sushi has historically continued to be prized at celebratory occasions and festivals. Even today it is handed down as local cuisine in various places, and the old-fashioned technique of pressing and firming with a wooden mold lives on in the present.