Things naturally change over time, and I don’t think tradition should be rigid. Is there a flavor that has remained unchanged for ages? When asked, I would say that there is almost nothing whose flavor has remained unchanged for a hundred years. I read this somewhere, but I think that what we regard as traditional flavors are mostly flavors from our own past and memories. Apart from Shinto and Buddhist rituals, I don’t think there is anything in cooking whose flavor has remained unchanged for one or two hundred years. Even with sushi, the flavor of shari (sushi rice) in an era when sugar was scarce must have been very different from today. Even at Yahata Sushi, the salt level was reduced when the fourth generation was young, about fifty years ago. I sometimes wonder whether changing with the times and people’s preferences is more difficult than preserving a single flavor through the ages. For example, although cucumber rolls were invented by the fourth generation shortly after World War II, people did not yet think of eating cucumbers raw at the time, so they were not initially accepted by the older generation. It was the fifth generation who came up with them. Zuiun, a sea urchin dish that is now extremely popular alongside kappa maki (cucumber rolls), was also difficult for the fourth generation to accept. As the fifth generation with that way of thinking, I am always looking for something new. A few years ago, I made a sandwich of grilled horse mackerel and ankimo (steamed monkfish liver), and finally completed Yahata Sushi’s version of a Filet-O-Fish. It is wrapped in lettuce and eaten, and is now served as one variety of omakase nigiri. I spread a thin layer of lightly roasted ankimo on a lettuce leaf and drizzle it with sweet conger eel sauce. On top, I place a round ball of shari, then add grilled kamasu (barracuda). Because sweet sauce is used with the ankimo, I add grated red pepper &radish and vinegared soy sauce over the kamasu to balance the sweetness and spiciness. Green onion is also added on top for color. Avocado is sometimes used in place of shari, but avocado is similar in texture and flavor to ankimo, and since this is also a piece of nigiri sushi, a ball of shari seems the better choice. It appears around the middle of the omakase nigiri course, and everyone loves it. The fifth generation’s motto is, “The customer will decide,” and everyone’s big smiles convince me. ^^ Nigiri sushi was the main course before the Edo period, but I think it will be fun to serve this from time to time in the future as well. Please make a reservation for Omakase Nigiri at the counter.

Things naturally change over time, and I don’t think tradition should be rigid. Is there a flavor that has remained unchanged for ages? When asked, I would say that there is almost nothing whose flavor has remained unchanged for a hundred years. I read this somewhere, but I think that what we regard as traditional flavors are mostly flavors from our own past and memories. Apart from Shinto and Buddhist rituals, I don’t think there is anything in cooking whose flavor has remained unchanged for one or two hundred years. Even with sushi, the flavor of shari (sushi rice) in an era when sugar was scarce must have been very different from today. Even at Yahata Sushi, the salt level was reduced when the fourth generation was young, about fifty years ago. I sometimes wonder whether changing with the times and people’s preferences is more difficult than preserving a single flavor through the ages. For example, although cucumber rolls were invented by the fourth generation shortly after the war, people did not yet think of eating cucumbers raw at the time, so they were not initially accepted by the older generation. It was the fifth generation who came up with them. Zuiun, a sea urchin dish that is now extremely popular alongside kappa maki (cucumber rolls), was also difficult for the fourth generation to accept. As the fifth generation with that way of thinking, I am always looking for something new. A few years ago, I made a sandwich of grilled horse mackerel and ankimo (steamed monkfish liver), and finally completed Yahata Sushi’s version of a Filet-O-Fish. It is wrapped in lettuce and eaten, and is now served as one variety of omakase nigiri. I spread a thin layer of lightly roasted ankimo on a lettuce leaf and drizzle it with sweet conger eel sauce. On top, I place a round ball of shari, then add grilled kamasu (barracuda). Because sweet sauce is used with the ankimo, I add grated red pepper radish and vinegared soy sauce over the kamasu, along with green onion for color. Avocado is sometimes used in place of shari, but avocado is similar in texture and flavor to ankimo, and since this is also a piece of nigiri sushi, a ball of shari seems the better choice. It appears around the middle of the omakase nigiri course, and everyone loves it. The fifth generation’s motto is, “The customer will decide,” and everyone’s big smiles convince me. ^^ Nigiri sushi was the main course before the Edo period, but I think it will be fun to serve this from time to time in the future as well. Please make a reservation for Omakase Nigiri at the counter.