Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Sushi is Japan’s most prominent contribution to global food culture. However, its current popularity in the world has resulted in drastic - and still ongoing - transformations in the culinary culture surrounding sushi in Japan itself, critically affecting the basic, “traditional” ways sushi has been produced and consumed in its supposed country of birth. This study will look at the ways sushi culture is transforming in Japan, with a particular focus on sushi chef training. Today, sushi chef training could be categorized into two divergent and opposing systems: years-long apprenticeship under a master sushi chef, and months-long education in a sushi chef training school. Advocates for both training schemes are currently engaged in a sometimes caustic debate about each scheme’s (de)merits, with many views expressed in print, broadcast, and online media. This paper first considers the historical and cultural contexts behind sushi chef training in Japan and the rise of short-term chef training schemes, which is a recent phenomenon. It then filters and weigh the significant issues of the debate, as it investigates the fundamental stances of the opposing systems, look into how these are promoted and enacted, and, finally, discuss how they affect the ways sushi is made and eaten not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world today.