The Story of Sushi (33 page)

I
owe an enormous debt to Harold McGee, whose masterpiece,
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen,
was my primary source for basic food science; I relied heavily on the book. For the history and culture of sushi, I relied primarily on the work of several Japanese scholars and writers, including Naomichi Ishige, Mitsuru Nakamura, Shinzo Satomi, and Masuo Yoshino.

It was my good fortune that Jay Terauchi answered the phone when I first telephoned the California Sushi Academy (CSA). Jay immediately understood my intent and was a steadfast and sensitive advocate for my research during the three months that I became a perpetual presence at the school and restaurant. On numerous occasions he explained my presence to the chefs, instructors, students, and restaurant staff and encouraged them to put up with my intrusion and to answer my questions. He also reminded me to be sensitive to their needs, and to the logistics of a cramped and busy workplace where extremely sharp knives, shooting flames, and vats of hot oil were constant features. Along with Jay, Jeffrey Nitta engaged me in hours of conversation about sushi in America and was a source of thought-provoking ideas, background information, and fascinating stories.

Toshi Sugiura generously gave me the run of his school and restaurant. I can imagine no other sushi chef who would let a reporter don a chef’s jacket and stand behind the sushi bar with a notebook during dinner service—not just once, but nearly every night.

The students and instructors at CSA in the summer of 2005 hadn’t signed up to be written about. As I became a fixture in their classroom, they were extraordinarily tolerant of my presence.
I am especially grateful to instructor Zoran Lekic and students Kate Murray, Takumi Nishio, and Marcos Wisner, who ended up becoming the focus of the classroom scenes in the book. I also owe special thanks to the other instructor, Tetsuya Tsumoto, and the students not mentioned by name in the book: Jenard de Castro, Reo Julyant, Shane Koenig, Elena Puig, Karen Saito, and Fabiel Yepo. In addition, Fie Kruse was a keen observer of the chefs and students—and of herself. I appreciate the candor with which she shared her thoughts.

After getting to know me and coming to understand my intent, the people I describe in the book signed release forms that gave me the freedom to write about them honestly. I am grateful.

The rest of the staff at CSA and the Hama Hermosa restaurant during the summer of 2005 also have my appreciation, including Takashi Koike, Wataru Shiratori, Danica Yamasato, Caitlin Earl, Kimiko Masuda, Tricia Watters, Sheila Hwang, and Filipé Sanchez. Restaurant manager Susumu Jimbo deserves particular thanks for fielding my numerous requests for fish-market invoices and other restaurant and school documents, and also for several informative conversations.

Nikki Gilbert, a graduate of CSA and owner of the Sushi Girl catering and teaching operation spent an evening showing me around Venice Beach, telling me her story and bringing to life the glory days of Toshi’s old restaurant, Hama Venice. Tali Sever and Philip Yi, both CSA veterans, spent part of an afternoon with me at their store, Sushi Central in Culver City, sharing tales of the academy and sushi in America and Japan. Thanks also to Tracy Griffith for sharing her CSA stories.

Beth Horan and Paul Buttner of the California Rice Commission kindly made the arrangements necessary for me to report from behind the scenes at the 2005 Sushi Masters competition in Sacramento. Dave and Kathy Rudie of Catalina Offshore Products in San Diego showed me their sea-urchin operation and discussed the history of sushi in southern California. Ted Wakeman and Bridgett Klingler at Pacific Farms in Florence, Oregon, talked with me about wasabi in America and showed me their former farm and current processing facility. Clark Sayer of Clark Sayer & Associates taught me about the science of wasabi. Nach Waxman at Kitchen
Arts and Letters in New York City was a stimulating source of ideas, encouragement, and reference materials. These people and many others related to the world of sushi assisted me in a variety of ways. They all have my profound gratitude.

My editor at HarperCollins, Hugh Van Dusen, has been able to envision my books as completed works before I can. His belief in my book on sushi was ardent from the beginning, and it never wavered, in spite of repeated delays, changes of direction by the author, and down-to-the-wire suspense with the approach of deadlines. Marie Estrada at HarperCollins provided sanity, camaraderie, advocacy, understanding, and humor as she helped get me through the entire process. Over the past few years the enthusiastic support from the staff at HarperCollins, including in particular Jane Beirn, but also the many others who work behind the scenes, has been a dream come true.

Stuart Krichevsky also saw the book’s potential more clearly than I could at the beginning, and his patience and thoughtful prodding as I struggled to articulate the book’s direction and purpose were a tremendous help. Stuart helped keep me on track, both as my agent through the formalities of publishing and as an astute counselor who helped me clarify my approach to the subject matter. Shana Cohen at the Krichevsky Agency was also a steadfast source of friendship and information and has my thanks as well.

At the Boston Law Group, the sage advice of Sean Ploen bolstered me at crucial moments in the creation of this book. I also wish to thank the community of editors and writers connected with the
Atlantic Monthly
magazine, as well as my teachers and colleagues at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism.

My research assistants Sakiko Kajino, Jennifer Esch, and Jenny Mayo made the timely completion of this book possible, and amplified the depth and breadth of its contents. I made a point of using my Japanese language skills for both the oral and textual portions of the research for this book, and I translated two of the Japanese books that I used as references. However, the sheer volume of material available in Japanese prevented me from perusing it all myself,
and Sakiko Kajino, a graduate student in linguistics at Georgetown University, became my other set of eyes for Japanese-language information on sushi. Sakiko’s enthusiasm was unbounded, her ability to locate exactly what I was searching for was uncanny, and her contribution to the book was enormous. Jennifer Esch, a brilliant undergraduate at Harvard University with a sure-fire instinct for weird and wonderful science, did most of the hunting through libraries, databases, journals, and scientific texts for the morsels of biological, behavioral, and ecological drama that helped bring the book alive. Jenny Mayo, a graduate student in nonfiction writing at Johns Hopkins University and herself an accomplished journalist, performed the many hours of meticulous legwork behind the survey of Midwest American sushi that appears in Chapter 20. I am deeply indebted to all three of my assistants; the book is far richer for their contributions. In addition, the book could not have been completed on time without the heroic efforts of Dolores Young and her team at ACE Transcription Service, whose ability to read my handwritten notes bordered on the supernatural.

In a category of her own is Jennifer Hammock. She worked as a research assistant, gathering biological, behavioral, and ecological information on the creatures in the book. Even more important, she worked closely with me as a freelance editor on the manuscript during the crucial first two drafts. She suggested radical improvements to both the narrative and the explanatory material, and accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of carving an unwieldy manuscript down to size. She was a solid pillar of good sense, rational commentary, and exceptionally careful editing. More generally, throughout the year that I was researching and writing the book, she was a source of scientific education and helpful conversation. The book is far better for her involvement.

Sarah Corson performed several meticulous edits to subsequent drafts of the book and improved the readability of the text immensely. I am indebted to her for this, and for a lifetime of encouragement and wise counsel in the use of the written word for effective communication. Dick Atlee and Michael Vazquez generously read the manuscript and made numerous helpful suggestions as well. My brother Ash Corson also provided valuable comments on the manuscript while writing his own book. Moreover,
without Ash I might never have managed to spend three months at CSA. He allowed me to encamp in his little apartment in L.A. with my suitcases and stacks of notebooks, and he was always ready to lend a car, bicycle, and sympathetic ear as I pursued sushi and its practitioners into uncharted territory.

My family, friends, and advisors helped me through a challenging year with this book, and I’m thankful for the presence of all of them in my life.

My previous book,
The Secret Life of Lobsters,
was about one creature, and that was daunting enough. This book is about—at last count—approximately thirty plants and animals (not including the humans), plus a set of foreign culinary traditions dating back more than a thousand years. While I have received a huge amount of help with this book, any mistakes it contains remain my responsibility.

T
he scenes described in the book that occurred during 2005 and 2006 are based on firsthand reporting by the author (as detailed in the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book) unless a scene is noted below as a reconstruction based on interviews. Chapters that relied on no additional sources other than firsthand reporting by the author are not included below. The references in the notes below are listed in approximate order of importance for each subject. The references indicate items that are listed in the Bibliography, unless otherwise noted. For Bibliography items, the primary author’s name is given, plus page numbers for the longer documents; if the item has no author listed, the first word or two of the item’s title is given instead. Many of the books and other documents referenced for
The Story of Sushi
were in Japanese, and were translated by myself or my research assistant Sakiko Kajino of Georgetown University. California Sushi Academy is abbreviated as “CSA” throughout.

1.
SUSHI SCHOOL

Reconstruction of week 1 of summer CSA class, 5 July 2005–8 July 2005:
interviews with Kate Murray (10 and 23 Aug. 2005, 29 Sep. 2005, 24 Mar. 2006), Jay Terauchi (23 Sep. 2005), Jenard de Castro (18 Aug. 2005), and Toshi Sugiura (23 Sep. 2005); also, diary entry for 11 July 2005 by Jenard de Castro.
History of Hama Venice and CSA:
Tamamura 256–260; Louie; interviews with Toshi Sugiura (21 Sep. 2005), Jeffrey Nitta (21 July 2005, 9 Sep. 2005), and Robert Stanfield (25 Aug. 2005).
CSA student nationality and employment data:
Louie; “Sushi Academy.”
Boisterous sushi chefs of old Tokyo:
Omae 86; Ishige 227–228.
Other CSA students attending sum
mer 2005 semester:
interviews with Reo Julyant (23 Sep. 2005), Shane Koenig (25 Aug. 2005), Fabiel Yepo (10, 11, and 23 Aug. 2005), Elena Puig (13 Sep. 2005), Marcos Wisner (16 July 2005, 17–22 Aug. 2005), Karen Saito (16 July 2005), and Jenard de Castro (18 Aug. 2005).
Japanese swords and knives:
Ishige 206–213; Sato 53; Nagayama, Kokan 3, 44; Klippensteen 13–20; “Hocho-shiki.”

2.
EATING TO LIVE

Kate’s personal history and decision to attend CSA:
interviews with Kate Murray (10 and 23 Aug. 2005, 29 Sep. 2005, 24 Mar. 2006) and Jay Terauchi (23 Sep. 2005).
Short story “Sushi”:
Okamoto 31–60.

3.
MOLD

Reconstruction of CSA visit to miso factory on 8 July 2005:
see “1. Sushi School” above; also, author visit to Miyako Oriental Foods miso factory and interviews with factory staff Terry Shimizu and Joe Arai (22 Mar. 2006).
History and science of miso and soy sauce:
Shurtleff (1983) 28–29, 212–231, 248–254; Shurtleff (2004); Ishige 39–40, 113–117; Hosking 211–214, 220–221; interview with Terry Shimizu (22 Mar. 2006).
Lack of dairy in Japan:
Ishige 58–62.
Enzymes:
Thain 239–241; McGee 809; Radzicka.
Glutamate:
Thain 307; McGee 175, 271, 806; Steingarten 91–99.
Fermented fish paste:
Ishige 36; McGee 235.
Buddhism and Japanese vegetarianism:
Ishige 45–58.
Vinegar and acetic acid:
McGee 772–775.

4.
TASTE OF THE SEA

Dashi, kelp, and bonito flakes:
Ishige 219–224; Hosking 200–203, 206–208; McGee 237–238, 334.
Bonito and ATP:
Naruse 96–97.
Nikiri sauce:
Nagayama, Kazuo 247; Nakamura 65; Sakaguchi 176; interview with Fie Kruse (19 July 2005).
MSG, IMP, and umami:
McGee 342; Steingarten 91–99; Zhao, G.Q.; Zhang, Y.; Nelson, G.; for a fascinating essay on the history of MSG, see Sand.
Reconstruction of week 2 of summer CSA class, 11 July 2005–16 July 2005:
interviews with Kate Murray (10 and 23 Aug. 2005, 29 Sep. 2005, 24 Mar. 2006).
Big Mac sauce ingredients:
“McDonald’s.”

5.
LIKE THE VOMIT OF A DRUNKARD

Sushi rice at body temperature:
Satomi 244–245; Nakamura 31–32; Tamamura 261–262.
Jay’s personal history, his views on sushi in America, and his observations on CSA students:
interviews with Jay Terauchi (16 July 2005, 23 and 24 Sep. 2005). Wasabi science: McGee 415–418.
Correct and
incorrect use of wasabi:
Ikezawa 157–159; Nakamura 69–71; Nagayama, Kazuo 241.
Function of pickled ginger:
Nakamura 72.
Sushi-eating etiquette:
Omae 16; Nakamura 60–61; Nagayama, Kazuo 9.
Calories:
California roll and cheese pizza purchased from Trader Joe’s in Washington, D.C., on 27 Oct. 2006. According to the labels: California roll, 600 calories; two slices of pizza, 620 calories.
Varieties of sushi:
Nakamura 43–48; Omae 110–113; Tsuji 285–289.
Apprenticeships and rice cooking:
Omae 86; Tsuji 272–273.
Early Japanese diet and agriculture:
Ishige 8–17; Kiple 132–148.
History of sushi and its fermentation process:
Ishige 35–43, 230–231; Nakamura 9–10, 13–14; Yoshino 15–20; Omae 104; o ba 12; Sakaguchi 174–175; McGee 234, 291–293, 808; Purves 29–30.
Garum:
Ishige 36; McGee 235.
Vomit of a drunkard:
Nakamura 15.
Taxes:
Nakamura 11; Yoshino 19.
Etymology of “sushi”:
Nakamura 13–14; Yoshino 20.
Rice vinegar:
Sakaguchi 175; Nakamura 12; Omae 98–99; Naruse 58–59; McGee 775 (for sake, 755–758).
California Rice Center prices:
“Rice.”
Toxic bacterium:
McGee 475.

6.
SEVEN GODS IN EVERY GRAIN

Rice enrichment, biology, milling, history, and nutrition:
“Cereal” Juliano chap. 6; McGee 461–462, 472–474; Kiple 132–148; Ishige 17–32; Fletcher; “Milling” interview with Yasuo Sasaki of Japan Food Corp. Int’l (12 Sep. 2006).
Sushi apprenticeship:
Omae 86–90.
Religion and rice:
Tamaru 80–81; Omae 21; interview with Takumi Nishio (15 July 2005); e-mail interview with Sakiko Kajino of Georgetown University (4 July 2006).
Rice starches:
McGee 457–458.
Grain size and brands:
interviews with Jay Terauchi (15 July 2005), Marcos Wisner (21 Sep. 2005), and Elizabeth Horan of the California Rice Commission (13 Sep. 2005); Hama Hermosa brand was Tamanishiki, see “Premium.”
Rice more important than fish:
Satomi 243.
Qualities and types of rice; blending:
Satomi 243–247; Naruse 40–47; Nakamura 30–32; Omae 56.
Miora:
“Suihan” Araki; Purves 121–122, 738, 993.
Rice preparation and cooking:
Ishige 202–206; Naruse 50–52; Nakamura 56; e-mail interview with Fie Kruse (3 Nov. 2006).
Vinegar and sugar:
Nakamura 29–32, 55–57; Naruse 53–54; Satomi 248–249; McGee 296–298; interview with Robert Stanfield (25 Aug. 2005).

7.
L.A. STORY

History of Japanese Americans:
Takaki 180–219.
History of Japanese food and sushi in the U.S. and of Mutual Trading Co. and Noritoshi Kanai:
Tamamura 223–233; Nakamura 157–162; “History of Japanese Foods” “History: Pioneers” Fasman; Miller; Sindler; interview with Sharon Peraz
zoli by my research assistant Jenny Mayo of Johns Hopkins University (26 July 2006); O’Connor.
Healthy diet and omega-3s:
Nakamura 158–161; Nestle 184–185; U.S. Senate.
Toshi’s personal history:
interviews with Toshi Sugiura (21 and 23 Sep. 2005), Jeffrey Nitta (21 July 2005, 9 Sep. 2005), Jay Terauchi (21 July 2005); Susumu Jimbo (20 July 2005, 17 Sep. 2005), Nikki Gilbert (26 Mar. 2006), and Danica Yamasato (16 and 21 July 2005); Tamamura 256–258; “Rosanzerusu” Huneven.

8.
BATTLE OF THE SEXES

Kirara comic:
Hayakawa; scene with Sakamaki: v. 1 206; scene with hardened woman: v. 4 188–190.
Discrimination against women:
Ishige 228; Nakamura 60; Louie; Weiner; Yuyama 13–20, 23–26, 56, 114–119; Kim.
Conveyor-belt sushi:
Nakamura 37; Tamamura 41–42, 114; “Shufu.”
Decline in traditional sushi business:
Yuyama 19; “Gaishoku Sangyo.”
Western-style sushi bars in Japan:
Nakamura 173–176; “Hudo.”
Female chefs leaving for U.S.:
Louie.
Toshi establishing CSA:
interview with Toshi Sugiura (16 July 2005); Louie; Fasman.
Tracy personal history:
interview with Tracy Griffith (25 Mar. 2006); Griffith 5–11.
Other female CSA graduates:
interviews with Nikki Gilbert (26 Mar. 2006), Tali Sever (22 Mar. 2006); Louie; Kelly; Baggett.
Fie Kruse personal history:
interviews with Fie Kruse (18 and 20 July 2005, 26 Aug. 2005, 4 Sep. 2005), Jenard de Castro (18 Aug. 2005), and Tetsuya Tsumoto (12 Sep. 2005).
Sushi in Europe:
Tamamura 36–39, 117–120, 124–128.

9.
HOLLYWOOD SHOWDOWN

History of tuna in sushi:
Nakamura 35–38, 92; Sakaguchi 179–180; Yoshino 113–120; Bestor (2004) 142.
Spicy tuna:
Nakamura 170; interviews with Toshi Sugiura (16 July 2005) and Jay Terauchi (15 July 2005).
Fake wasabi:
interview with Ted Wakeman of Pacific Farms Wasabi (27 Feb. 2006).
Party at Paramount Pictures:
Concern Foundation’s Stampede to Conquer Cancer, 16 July 2005; “Block Party” Peters.
Sushi robots:
Tamamura 247–248; “Sushi, Omusubi” Bestor (2004) 162; Omae 108.
Transformation of sushi into Edo street food; invention of
nigiri
; early toppings:
Jansen 127–128; Nakamura 16–27, 76–80, 95; Ishige 106–109, 122–124, 227–231; Satomi 139; Sakaguchi 175–176; Yoshino 58–66, 70–71; Omae 24–52, 105–108, 112–113; Tamamura 114, 215–216; Ema 208–210.
Spread of Edo-style sushi throughout Japan:
Nakamura 32–34, 40–41; Sakaguchi 179; Satomi 250; Tamamura 113; Yoshino 73–74; Uchida 53–57.
Regional varieties of sushi in Japan:
Nakamura 43–48; Omae 110–113.
Marcos personal history:
interviews with Marcos Wisner (16 July 2005, 17–22 Aug. 2005).
Kate at Chuck E. Cheese:
interview with Kate Murray (27 Aug. 2005).

10.
CHEF’S CHOICE

Sushi bar ordering etiquette:
Nagayama 9; Omae 20–21; interviews with Jay Terauchi (15 July and 9 Aug. 2005).
Kaiseki:
Ishige 88, 99–101.
Textbook quote; order of meal courses; sake; chopsticks:
Tsuji 45–52; Ishige 175–179, 189–193.
Sake as profit generator:
interview with Toshi Sugiura (19 Sep. 2005).
Disposable chopsticks:
“Rising Costs” “Chopstick Inflation” e-mail interview with Sakiko Kajino of Georgetown University (29 Aug. 2006).
Examples of multi-course
omakase
sushi:
“Uma-yasu no Sushi.”
The rise of high-class sushi and the transition from street stall to restaurant:
Nakamura 19–25; Yoshino 67–71; Omae 108; Tamamura 41–42; Ishige 112–113; Jansen 116–121.
Anti-bacterial plastic leaves:
Naruse 80; “What is Wasaouro?”

11.
INSIDE THE ROLL

Sushi rolls in Japan vs. in the U.S.:
Nakamura 68–69, 73, 165–169; Tamamura 241–242; Tsuji 288; “Uma-yasu no Sushi.”
Inside-out roll construction:
Basics of Sushi.
California roll:
Tamamura 234–235; “History: Pioneers” Nakamura 162.
Avocado:
McGee 337.
Inside-out rolls to hide seaweed; reports about “black paper”:
Nakamura 73, 175. Tamamura 200–201.
Paper-making and nori:
Uchida 135.
Global seaweed consumption:
Kiple 232–233, 1850; Guiry; McGee 341.
Nori and laver, Kathleen Drew-Baker:
Guiry; Chen; Nishizawa; Nelson, W.; Nagayama 245; Satomi 206–209; Nakamura 73–74; Omae 101–102; Tamamura 199–201; McGee 343; “Girl from Leigh” “Seaweed.”
Thin rolls:
Nagayama 193–211; Tsuji 303; “Kappa” “Tekka-maki” Shinmura 472; Matsumura 479.
Sushi roll from 1776:
Yoshino 310.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as
kappa
:
Teenage.
Bromophenols:
McGee 192.
Japanese tourists:
interview with Jeffrey Nitta and Jay Terauchi (21 July 2005).

12.
PUTTING ON THE SQUEEZE

Neta
:
Shinmura 1866; e-mail interview with Sakiko Kajino of Georgetown University (6 Aug. 2006).
Converting sea creatures to
neta
:
Satomi 177–204.
CSA
nigiri
technique:
Basics of Sushi.
Qualities and styles of
nigiri
: Naruse 14–17, 22–23; Yoshino 78–80; Nakamura 57–61; Omae 67.

13.
FAST FOOD

Crisp nori:
Nakamura 73.
Big roll:
Tsuji 300–302.
Quest for speed, different approaches in Japan vs. in the U.S.:
Nakamura 186–187; Tamamura 241–242, 248–249, 263–264.

14.
AMERICAN STYLE

Jeff’s personal history:
interviews with Jeffrey Nitta (21 July 2005, 9 Sep. 2005).
Jay’s personal history:
interviews with Jay Terauchi (16 and 21 July 2005, 23 and 24 Sep. 2005).
Inflexibility of Japanese chefs in U.S. and influx of non-Japanese Asian chefs:
Jeff’s comments echoed in Tamamura 201–202.
Americanization of sushi:
Jeff’s comments echoed in Kessler.
Masa:
Platt.

15.
SHOW TIME

Nozawa “the sushi Nazi”:
interview with Jay Terauchi (19 July 2005); author visit to Sushi Nozawa (19 Sep. 2005).
Takumi’s personal history:
interviews with Takumi Nishio (20 July 2005; 11, 12, 16, and 23 Sep. 2005); e-mail interviews with Sakiko Kajino of Georgetown University (12 Aug. 2006, 1 Sep. 2006); “Patona.”

16.
FRUITS OF THE SEA