Sushi
Probably for most of you Japanese cuisine is associated with sushi - one of the most popular dishes in the world. The sushi has got quite a long story. Once when there were no fridges, fish and seafood quickly got spoiled. "What to do about it?" - asked the fishermen and the chefs. Finally, it was invented to mix seafood with boiled rice and then close it in a barrel. After about one year spent in a barrel sushi was perfectly pickled and ready to be eaten! The invention of rice vinegar accelerated the preparation of sushi. Vinegar is still an indispensable ingredient of a Japanese dish and gives it its characteristic sour taste.
On Japanese islands you will find regional types of sushi, with the typical ingredients of the area. Their names are usually related to the preparation of individual dishes.
The sushi that we eat nowadays was invented by Hanaya Yohei in the 19th century. He was making sticks of boiled rice on which he put pieces of fish or seafood. The most popular version of sushi is called "makisushi". It is just a roll of rice with a piece of fish wrapped in a sheet of seaweed.
Itadakimasu! - Enjoy your meal!
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-of-sushi/
https://www.eat-japan.com/sushi-perfect/sushi-knwoledge/sushi-history/
The "Banzai" book
So it looks like in the past sushi was made with marinated fish (after a year in a barrel that's what it probably was). And now it is absolutely imperative that the fish be very fresh, preferably straight from the sea. Is the 'old' kind of sushi still eaten? Or maybe I misunderstood something?
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