History of sushi facts for kids

The history of sushi began when rice farming came to Japan over 2,000 years ago. The original type of sushi was developed in the Nara Prefecture as a way of preserving fish in fermented rice. During the Muromachi period, people would eat the rice and the fish. During the Edo period, vinegar, not fermented rice, was used. In more recent times, it has become a fast food associated with Japanese culture.

The origin of sushi goes back to Southeast Asia around the 4th century B.C.. At that time, it was called narezushi. The fish was originally eaten alone, without rice. Later on, a style of namaranarezushi reached Japan. Namaranerezushi combined the fish with rice.

What is called sushi in modern times was created by Hanaya Yohei (1799–1858) at the End of the Edo period. Sushi invented by Hanaya was an early form of fast food that was not fermented. It was prepared quickly. It could be eaten with one's hands. This fish was originally known as Edomae zushi because it used freshly caught fish in Edo-Bay or Tokyo Bay. The fish used in modern sushi no longer usually comes from Tokyo Bay.

By the early 1900s, sushi was being served in the United States, after many Japanese people immigrated there. The first United States sushi shop opened up in 1906 in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles.

In the United Kingdom, a report of sushi being eaten in Britain happened when then Crown Prince Akihito (born 1933) visited Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Australia is a major source of rice used with sushi.

Images for kids

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  Bowl of Sushi by Hiroshige (1797–1858)

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  Osaka-style sushi, also called oshizushi

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  Funazushi

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  Futo-maki (太巻き) or Eho-maki (恵方巻き)

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  A Girl Scout eating sushi.

See also

In Spanish: Historia del sushi para niños