Hanaya Yohei facts for kids
Hanaya Yohei (born 1799, died 1858) was a famous Japanese chef and restaurant owner. Many people believe he invented the type of sushi we know today, called nigiri sushi. This happened in Tokyo (which was called Edo back then) around the end of the Edo period. He also started his own sushi restaurant called Hanaya.
Hanaya Yohei's Life Story
Hanaya Yohei was born in a place called Reiganjima in Edo. Today, this area is known as Shinkawa, part of modern Tokyo.
In 1810, Hanaya opened his very own sushi restaurant. It was also named Hanaya, and it was located in Honjo, Edo. This area is now known as Honjo, Tokyo.
How He Invented Modern Sushi
Around the years 1818 to 1830, Hanaya created a brand new kind of sushi. It was called nigirizushi. This was different from an older type of sushi called oshizushi, which was pressed sushi.
Back in Hanaya's time, sushi was made with fresh fish caught right from nearby Tokyo Bay. However, there were no refrigerators yet! This meant that keeping food safe was a big challenge. To stop the fish from going bad, Hanaya had clever ways to prepare it.
Because of this, some fish popular today, like salmon roe (ikura), were not used. Also, people didn't like the fatty parts of fish like tuna because they spoiled too quickly. Instead, Hanaya would marinate the lean, red tuna meat in soy sauce.
He then served these prepared slices of fish on top of vinegared rice balls. These rice balls were quite large compared to the sushi we eat today. So, his sushi was not exactly the "raw fish" style that many people think of when they hear "sushi" now.
Sushi Becomes Popular
Hanaya's new way of making sushi changed how people ate in Japan. At first, chefs might only make sushi part-time. But soon, small, inexpensive sushi stands called yatai (屋台) started to appear.
Later, the government made rules about these food stands. So, bigger sushi restaurants called ryōtei (料亭) became the main places to eat sushi. Today, you can even find fun and affordable conveyor belt sushi (kaiten-zushi; 回転寿司) restaurants all over the world!
Hanaya Yohei passed away in 1858 when he was 60 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Hanaya Yohei para niños
