Have you ever heard of the "edible craft" of sushi called "kyo-sushi(Kyoto sushi)" ?

"Izuju" is located under the stone steps of Yasaka Shrine in Gion, Kyoto. As soon as the restaurant opens, customers rush in one after another to order the sushi. The main items on the menu are mackerel sushi, box sushi, and maki sushi, all of which are carefully wrapped and handed to the customer. In Kyoto, sushi is traditionally enjoyed as take-out or delivered.

Postwar Food Control Made Nigiri-sushi “ Japanese Sushi”

Nigiri-zushi is now synonymous with Japanese sushi, but it was originally a Tokyo food. What triggered the spread of nigiri throughout Japan was the Great Kanto Earthquake(1923), which caused sushi chefs to scatter from Tokyo to various parts of Japan. And the other reason was postwar food control. Amid rice shortages, restrictions have been placed on the cooking methods and amounts of rice served at restaurants. Making Kyo-sushi requires more amount of rice compared to nigiri, so they were forced to replace their sushi with nigiri which uses less rice. As other regions followed, nigiri-sushi spread throughout the country, and the local sushi culture in various regions faded behind the growing popularity of nigiri.
Kyoto, however, is an exception, where traditional sushi is still popular. What has preserved Kyoto's sushi?
The desire of tourists for "good old-fashioned" sushi, the respect for traditional craftsmanship, and the pride of Kyoto's craftspeople.

A Wood Kiln, The Same Preparation As 100 Years Ago

The chefs at Kyo-sushi are truly artisans, and the kitchen is just like a workshop.Gion's Izuju was founded at the end of the Meiji period. Last year, the old store was demolished and reopened in a new building with an okudo-san (kiln) as in the old store. After persistent negotiations with the fire department, they could keep the "red flame" of the kiln, which differs from a blue gas fire.

There are no electric appliances in the kitchen, and the pot is filled with shiitake mushrooms that can be kept simmering for more than 10 hours. Fried tofu fried by hand with special thick tofu is simmering over the red flame. All the preliminary work, such as washing and cutting vegetables into small pieces, is done by hand. The same preparation process is carried out as it was 100 years ago on the main street of a tourist attraction that attracts 60 million visitors a year.

Kaiseki Dishes Pasted on Top of the Rice Peace

Not only the time-consuming preparation of the ingredients but also the process of attaching the sushi is truly artisanal. Box sushi, in which rice and ingredients are pressed in a mold, can be found all over Japan, but Izuju's top box sushi has a beautiful mosaic of colors. The white color is lightly salted flatfish, and the light brown color is grilled Spanish mackerel with sweet soy sauce, which is crushed with a flat side of knife. In summer, seasonal fish such as conger eel and pike conger eel are used. The red and white fish is shrimp, the yellow is a thickly baked egg with fish paste, and the black is accented with torigai (clam). Underneath the fish, tree buds are placed to let the fresh green color. In winter, grated yellow yuzu peel adds bright color and fresh aroma.

It was the head chef at Yoshino Sushi in Osaka who said that box sushi is " two-square meter piece of kaiseki food on rice " says Norio Kitamura, owner of Izuju. Each piece of mosaic-shaped neta is a complete dish. Hakozushi is a type of sushi from Osaka and Kyoto, and is also known collectively as Kansai(the western area around Osaka)-sushi, but unfortunately, its former presence is fading due to the closure of some long-established restaurants in Osaka.

The Essence of Kyo-sushi Lies not in the Fish but in Rice

One of the major differences between Kyo-sushi and Edo-mae nigiri is that Kyo-sushi places the utmost importance on rice. At Izushige, rice is cooked in a broth made from katsuo (bonito) and kombu (kelp), which are both produced in Shiga Prefecture. Old rice is used to make it easier for the flavors to soak in. The rice is then coated with sweet sushi vinegar and allowed to soak up the flavor to the core.

In East and West, Tasting the Evolution of Sushi

Another major difference between Kyo-sushi and Edomae-nigiri is that Kyo-zushi does not use raw fish. This is because Kyo-zushi and Edomae-nigiri belong to different stages in the evolution of sushi. Sushi originated as a fermented seafood food that was introduced from Southeast Asia along with rice. Nare-zushi, a preserved food that has been around since the Nara period (710-794), is made by fermenting fish in a bed of cooked rice, and is in the same category as funa-zushi, a specialty of Shiga Prefecture. It is known to the origin of sushi in Japan. The fermentation period was later shortened to "hayazushi,"(rapid sushi) where fish is eaten with rice, and in the 18th century in Edo, the fermentation process was omitted and nigiri-zushi was created. From this evolutionary point of view, Kyo-zushi retains traces of "hayazushi," which is much older than Edo-style nigiri sushi.
Kyo sushi takes importance on the "aging" of the rice and neta(toppings). When rice and topping are slowly harmonized through maturing and fermentation, it tastes good.

Souldn't Show the Preparation, Shouldn't Use Soy Sauce

The photo on the top is  "Kyo-zushi assortment" made by Mr. Yasuyuki Ichida of Izugen, certified as a "Contemporary Master Craftsman" by Kyoto Prefecture in 2007. It is the standard of Kyo-zushi, with a perfect balance of ingredients, beautifully cut cross-sections, and neatly placed. Saba-sushi (mackerel sushi), a representative of Kyo-sushi, was once a simple local delicacy, but the long-established sushi restaurant Izu-u refined it into a dish that could be served at lavish banquets in the geisha district. Both" Izuju" and "Izugen," are branches of Izu-u, inherited the aesthetic from the headquarter.

Izumigen and Izuju have an eat-in area, but there is no counter like at Edomae Sushi. Ordered sushi is served on a platter and brought to the table. It is an artisan's aesthetic to serve the finished product without showing the customer the behind-the-scenes work. It is customary for the eater not to dip the sushi in soy sauce so as not to contaminate the beautiful edible works. However, there is a theory that the reason for not dipping the sushi in soy sauce is because kyo-sushi was made before the spread of soy sauce. It makes sense that the umami of soy sauce, a fermented seasoning, would complement the umami of nigiri zushi, which lacks a mature umami taste.

The Taste of Time

Ichida says, "I think the characteristic of Kyo-sushi is the taste of time difference. The sushi is prepared over a long period, and then it is eaten after it has been laid in bed. It is just right to put it on in the morning and eat it in the evening. The nori(seaweed) of the sushi roll also becomes moist and puffy, and the ingredients and rice are in harmony. The sense of seasonality is also a part of the deliciousness of "time. " The pictures in the restaurant and the serving dishes are changed depending on the season. The warm sushi called "mushi -sushi (steamed sushi)," which is only available in winter.

The value of "time" is becoming more and more important in this day and age when cost and time are in short supply. The most difficult thing is to maintain the "old-fashioned" way of making sushi. There are fewer and fewer people making the white kelp used to wrap mackerel sushi and the wooden molds used for boxed sushi," says Ichida. At its peak, there were 18 members of the Kyo-Sushi Goodwill Association, but now there are only 10. With the hollowing out of the city, the number of neighborhood residents seeking take-out sushi has also continued to decline.

Sushi not Nigiri

The interior of Izugen has a small tatami room and table seating.
Non-Nigiri Sushi" Attracts International Food Lovers
However, as Japanese nigiri-zushi is gaining popularity around the world, the presence of "non-nigiri sushi" is also increasing. Mr. Kitamura of Izuju has been creating new types of sushi such as matsutake mushrooms and guji(tile fish), and continues to create Kyoto-style sushi that both regulars and tourists alike will never get tired of. "When you look at the old paintings in the 18th century , you can see ordinary people enjoying sushi. I would like to create something interesting and evolved, to represent the excitement that people felt when they enjoyed sushi in the past."

This article was translated from Japanese , for reading the original article , click here 

Izushige● Gion Ishidanshita, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto TEL 075-561-0019　
https://gion-izuju.com/

Izugen● 391 Ayakoji-sagaru, Takakura, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto TEL 075-351-2516
https://kyoto-sushi.jp/member/idugen.html