What is the difference between “鮨,” “鮓” and “寿司” (all ready “Sushi”).

As far as we know, there are three ways “sushi” is written on sushi restaurant curtains in Japanese kanji characters: 鮨, 鮓 and 寿司.

Do you know the difference? Most Japanese people don’t know the answer to this question.

This is because various spellings are used by sushi restaurants throughout Japan.

For example, in Hokkaido, “鮨” is used. Next, in Tohoku, Akita and Yamagata use “鮨,” Aomori, Iwate, and Fukushima use “すし,” and Miyagi uses “寿司.”

In Kanto, Gunma, Saitama, Tokyo, and Kanagawa use “鮨,” Ibaraki and Chiba use “すし,” and Tochigi uses “寿司.” The spellings vary by prefecture.

Incidentally, among the 42 prefectures (excluding Nara, Wakayama, Kochi, Saga, and Okinawa), the most common spelling is “鮨” with 20, followed by “すし” with 17, ‘寿司’ with 4, and “鮓” with 1.

Broadly, in the Kanto area 鮨 is generally used while 鮓 is more common in Kansai. 寿司 is used commonly everywhere in Japan.

 

On the other hand, of the three, only 鮨 and 鮓 are seen in ancient Chinese literature. 鮨 was seen as a dictionary entry as early as the 5th to 3rd centuries B.C., and it’s origin is described as combining “fish” and “shiokara” (briny flavor) resulting in the term 鮨.

On the other hand, in A.D. 1st to 2nd century dictionaries, “鮓” appeared, and is explained to depict “a storage container for fish.” Toward the end of the second century 鮓 was used for the term “narezushi”.

But around the third century, the briny meaning of 鮨 and the term “narezushi*” written as 鮓 started to be used interchangeably. That is how the words were imported to Japan.

In Japan, the character “鮓” was often used in literature from the end of the Heian era to the end of the Edo era. Eventually the use of “鮨” was revived during the Meiji era (for unknown reasons). It was a natural transition that Kanto came to use “鮨” and Kansai came to use “鮓”.

Incidentally, the kanji “寿司” was created from the phonetics. Its use for celebratory occasions became commonplace throughout Japan.

*”Narezushi (熟れ寿司)” is the primitive version of Japanese sushi. It means covering seafood with salt and then soaking in rice for a few years as a form of lactic acid fermentation, which brings out the acidity.


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Revision date: May 31, 2025


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Assessing Fish at the fish market!

One important task of sushi chefs is going to Tsukiji (Toyosu) every morning, looking at fish with their own eyes and assessing the quality. Having a good eye is important in order to get the highest quality possible, but this is cultivated by experience. They are also constantly obtaining information from the fishmongers at the market regarding what the best fish of the season and their localities. It’s almost a game as to whether they can get high-quality fish at the optimum price everyday. The skills of a sushi chef start with this assessment.

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Revision date: September 11, 2018


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Why do sushi chefs make the sushi in front of the customers?

A photo of sushi chef
It is enjoyable to see sushi chefs at work.

Everyone can relax and enjoy a meal at a familiar restaurant. However, when visiting a new restaurant for the first time, you may feel a little nervous and find it difficult to concentrate on the food. You may feel a sense of being out of your element.

The purpose of going to a sushi restaurant is to eat delicious sushi. There should be no disagreement about that. And many regular customers at sushi restaurants enjoy casual conversation with the sushi chefs. The topics range from sports like baseball and soccer to politics, economics, and the opposite sex. The more skilled the sushi chef, the more they can remember all the conversations in chronological order.

For travelers who don’t speak Japanese, it may be hard to understand, but sushi restaurants are the only places in the world where customers can have a direct conversation with the head chef.

When I mentioned this, someone argued that at teppanyaki restaurants, you can watch the chef’s performance while having a conversation. In our opinion, that’s the same as a street performer. The performance should take priority over conversation.

Sushi chefs look at all their customers and adjust the timing of serving food for each one. Of course, they also want customers to see their beautiful techniques, but there’s no special reason why they have to make sushi in front of customers.

So why do they make sushi in front of customers?

Generally, it plays an important role in enhancing the transparency in the cooking process and instilling trust in customers regarding hygiene management and quality maintenance. But that’s not all. Sushi chefs are expected to learn communication and create the right atmosphere on their own. Because sushi tastes better in a fun atmosphere than when eaten in silence.


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Revision date: May 19, 2025


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