Jiro Ono (left) and his son, Yoshikazu.
We finally saw it, and it’s a charming look at the very high end of sushi, not just as food, but as an artform. The sushi is served one piece at a time, meant to be swallowed whole, and whatever soy sauce or extra flavoring is required is brushed on by the chef before it’s placed on the customer’s plate. There are no small plates for soy sauce and wasabi to mix together at your discretion. The chef controls the experience from start to finish.
The film is also arty and deliberate in its pacing, with the telling modernist repetition of composer Philip Glass making up much of the soundtrack music. The documentary reveals the daily workings of the small restaurant and its autocratic owner Jiro and his aging son Yoshikazu who is waiting to take over when his father retires (and the younger son Takashi, who escaped to operate his own restaurant in the hip Roppongi district of the city).
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” also comments towards the end on the overfishing of tuna for sushi, with Jiro giving historical context about how when he was younger there was never a shortage of maguro (tuna) and he could go to the market and ask for the best fish daily. Given the news just last week of the record $1.76 million price paid by a Tokyo restaurant for one bluefin tuna, I wonder how much longer tuna, the most popular fish for sashimi and sushi, will be on typical menus.
In the end, I enjoyed the movie but thought it was too long, and too reverential about Jiro. There were several points where the film could have wrapped up, but it returned to old themes, or went off on new topics.
One thread was a reunion with Jiro and his son to Hamamatsu, his hometown. He meets childhood friends who acknowledge that he was bully before and during the war years of the 1930s and ’40s. The segment also shows his callousness toward his parents and ancestors, when his and Yoshikazu visit the cemetery where they’re buried. Jiro comments snarkily, why should he care about his parents when they didn’t care about him?
It’s old-school Japanese tough love, and he’s passing it on in a way to his eldest son, who jokes earlier in the film about how he’s getting old himself, yet he’s still perceived as the assistant to the master. In fact, it turns out that the Michelin reviewer who was so taken with the restaurant was never served by Jiro, but instead by Yoshikazu.
You get the feeling that Jiro, as great a chef as he is, is also a difficult person. Maybe that’s a trait of world-class artists. In the droll but accurate words of punk-era songwriter Jonathan Richmond, “Pablo Picasso was an asshole.”
So it’s hard for me to care that much about Jiro. He’s a cute old man but I see enormous ego and even vindictiveness in him, which the filmmaker seems to have been blind to, or too timid to pull into the narrative. The narrative that we’re given is the masterful artist who lives for sushi and is still at it as an octogenarian, receiving unquestioning kudos from critics both at home and abroad.
My problem with that: The sushi that’s shown in the film is of such a rarified breed that it may as well be alien food from another planet. A meal at Jiro’s counter costs $300 for 20 pieces that he serves in an artsy order, from the most common fish to the more exotic. The place is small but always full — there’s a month-and-a-half waiting list for reservations.
OK, so it’s not too rarified for his customers. But for me, it’s something I’ll probably never experience.
The dichotomy presented in the film is sushi’s origins and its current popularity, contrasted with his precious cuisine. It began as street food, the documentary explains early on.
But today, Jiro’s sushi stands out, price- and quality-wise precisely because sushi has once again become street food. It’s available everywhere (even in the U.S., many cities seem to have sprouted as many sushi bars as Starbucks). In Japan, you can buy pretty good sushi (I think) on the run at convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Lawson’s. In the U.S., some form of sushi is often available in grocery stores and supermarkets.
Sang Kang (right) and his assistant La Min make good fresh sushi in my local supermarket.
The thing is, for most Japanese Americans, sushi for many years wasn’t something that’s available all over town. It was available at the fancy expensive Japanese restaurants, which also served sashimi, the raw fish served in slices. In fact, for decades Denver only had a couple of high-end Japanese restaurants that served sushi. Sushi and sashimi were for special occasions, or for family feasts during New Years and other holidays. Even in Japan when I was a kid, my family would only go out to fancy sushi restaurants for special occasions.
More often, the sushi we had was “maki-zushi” or “futomaki,” literally translated as “rolled sushi” or “fat rolls” of vinegared sushi rice filled with a handful of ingredients (but not sashimi, or raw fish) and rolled up in nori (seaweed). It turns out futomaki is what most Japanese Americans thought of as sushi too, because it’s more a working-class type of comfort food. “Nigiri-zushi,” the kind of sushi that has a piece of sashimi sitting atop a carefully formed oval ball of sushi rice, was special.
Either way, eating sushi growing up once we moved to the States was not a common occurrence. With sushi restaurants so rare, and Japanese culture so exotic, non-Japanese would recoil in horror at the thought of me enjoying a slice of raw fish on anything. It was well into the 1980s and even 1990s before sushi caught on with non-Japanese young upwardly-mobile hipsters. For them, eating sushi became a badge of their worldliness (and I suppose, their affluence).
Now, I know that there’s good sushi and bad sushi, and I’ve had awful sushi. It’s a crying shame when the rice is hard and undercooked, or mushy and overcooked, or has no trace of the sweet vinegary taste of proper sushi rice, or the nori is so tough you can’t bite through it, or the fish isn’t fresh and tastes fishy. For that reason, I usually avoid supermarket sushi (except for Kang’s in my supermarket — he even makes perfect brown rice inarizushi on request), and I get picky about who the sushi chefs are. Call me racist, but the best sushi I’ve had was made by Japanese or Korean chefs. When I enter a popular sushi joint and five white chefs beam out from the behind the bar and don’t yell the requisite “irasshai!” to welcome me, I assume I’m going to have a sub-par experience.
But I’ve had lots of good sushi too, definitely in Japan but also here in Denver. My mom is a snob for Japanese food and we agree that Sushi Den is the best in town. I also like Sushi Zanmai in Boulder.
Other great sushi bars have come and gone: Pelican Pete’s American seafood restaurant in Boulder in the 1970s had a terrific tiny sushi bar operated by a Japanese chef (don’t know here he went) who used to spoil my family and give us a bunch of sushi and only charged a fraction because he liked my dad; Sushi Heights on East Colfax is gone now, but its owner and chef, Kenji Yujiri, is now quietly running the sushi bar at Sushi Den.
I love dining out at Japanese restaurants. But when I do, I rarely go for sushi, while for many non-Japanese these days, sushi is synonymous with Japanese food. I know people who go out and have sushi a couple times a week for lunch. Not me — sushi for me is still for special occasions. I’d rather enjoy a bowl of ramen, or curry rice, or yakiniku beef, or tonkatsu breaded pork cutlet.
It’s hard to imagine what special occasion would allow for me to dine at Jiro’s place in Tokyo, and cough up $300 for a meal.
Here’s the trailer for “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”:
What struck me the most about the film was the narrow, confined life of his oldest son Yoshikazu. Locked in by fate, he definitely did not have the freedom to be anyone he wanted to be! Eventually, he will be forever plagued by comparisons to his late father!
Thanks for your comment, Harold — you’re absolutely right. I felt sorry for the son, whose life is reordained and lived in his father’s shadow. He certainly didn’t seem very happy. He looked merely resigned….
Harold and Gil, you have no idea what culture is in Asian ethnicity. This is how traditional Japanese families are. You see things by your point of view which is fine, but you should consider that people have different upbringings and this is the norm. You feel sorry for the son for having this shadow of his father cast upon him, but do you think he feels that way? I very well doubt it.
How can you have such a biased review about the film when you have never tried Jiros sushi?
You rarely go out for sushi as it is, and that destroys any opinion you have about this film. I do however appreciate the depth behind your writing. Thank you.
Jason
Hi Harold, thanks for your comments. I never wrote that Jiro’s sushi wouldn’t be any good — in fact I’m sure it deserves the accolades it’s received. My point is that sushi has been turned into an iconic food (in large part by the acceptance by non-Asians in recent decades when it was anathema to my non-Japanese friends when I was younger) and that I wouldn’t pay $300 for a sushi meal. I certainly understand the dynamic of Japanese families, having been raised in one that’s more Japanese than American (thanks to my Issei mom), and in my viewing of the film, I definitely saw and sensed a deep level of regret and pain in the son, especially when he speaks about his father’s refusal to retire. It seems pretty obvious to me, although you’re right, it’s just my observation and opinion, as is everything on the Nikkei View blog. As someone who’s reviewed the arts (including food and music and film and fine arts) for a career, I do think the movie is way too long and the filmmaker too indulgent. I actually blame that on his being non-Japanese and overly infatuated by the “idea” of sushi and of Jiro as some sort of cultural hero. I found Jiro frankly to be overbearing and unpleasant — his true self really comes out at his high school reunion and at the family ohaka, or gravesite. I appreciate you taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment, though, even if end up disagreeing!
Nice article, and I tend to agree with much of it, being a sushi/sashimi fanatic, but who could only take a photo of Sukiyabashi Jiro (price and reservation advance prohibiting). I live in New York but have been going to Japan very frequently, 2-6 times a year. I did enjoy the movie and can appreciate the discipline and the culture of not only a sushi-making family, but other professions handed down through the generations. Having said all that, I cannot disagree more with your assumption that good sushi can be found in the so-called combini (convenience stores) such as 7-11 or the traditional bento box. What you get there is not the raw fish sashimi sushi as we all know it, but the sushi – usually a roll – made with either smoked or dried fish and Japanese veggies such as daikon (radish) or gobo (pickled burdock) that are made to sit in a grocery case for the day. I must say, however, that you have given me more perspective on the man, Jiro, and I thank you for your thoughts.
Thanks Barbara Ann! It’s true the combini don’t have an array of nigiri sushi, but I thought we did find some trays in 7-Elevens and Lawsons. We jut got back from a two-week trip to Hokkaido, then Tokyo then Takayama so I’ll be posting about the trip in the days to come….
Just got back from a similar trip to Hokkaido – Aomori, Sapporo and Hakodate, then back down to Kyoto. I’m sure you know this – Aomori is know for its tuna, ikura (salmon roe) and squid. Sapporo has great ramen and kani (crab). I don’t know that I’ve ever had tuna, the regular, the ootoro (medium fatty) and toro (fatty tuna) as delicious or super fresh as in Aomori in a little shop on the main drag. AND Hakodate has superior scallops.
You must have interesting work to take you to such places. We spent some time in Sapporo where I an uncle on our recent trip, and also in Nemuro, my mom’s hometown on the easternmost tip of Hokkaido. I’ve actually never had ramen in Sapporo (though I had terrific soba in a place in Daimaru dept. store next to Sapporo Station). I’ll have to seek ramen out next time. The freshest sushi and seafood in general that I’ve ever had is in Nemuro, whose main industry is fishing. When we were there my Aunt served us ikura that was a day old and it was like heaven. She also served us Hanasaki Kani, the spiny, tasty crab that Nemuro is famous for. We’d missed the crab festival by two weeks, but everything was still in season and plentiful. It’s hard to come back to the States and have “fresh seafood” or sushi… 🙁
This was an article that I feel portrayed the film as a whole, the filmmaking process, and the man it is based on very well. As a person who is also passionate about various forms of art, I too had very similar opinions, however, due to my ethnicity (Korean), I found it very hard to make said statements without worrying whether people would question my opinion due to my ethnicity. I feel that because Japan changed so rapidly and suddenly in the past few decades, the difference in generational upbringings also differ drastically from one generation to the next, and I too noticed the weight and slight dullness when the first son described his inevitable future, where even if he was recognized for his skills, his title at best would be “The Second Coming of Jiro”. This was actually my first read on your blog, and I can’t wait to delve deeper into your thoughts.
Thanks for your comments, Ko. Glad we’re on the same wavelength!
Hi! I am Chinese-Canadian and the funny thing is Sushi is also a “comfort food” to me, as by the time I was growing up (in Vancouver, BC, Canada) Japanese restaurants were ubiquitous. The majority seem to be run by Koreans, but as you said for me ethnicity shouldn’t matter too much. (Though I will admit I always hope they are at least Asian, and preferably 1st generation immigrant…. not to sound racist or anything…) It does feel a bit weird to have white people cook say Chinese food but that’s just my opinion.
I will probably never be able to eat at Jiro’s place ever. When I was in Japan there was some really good sushi (in Vancouver they would be restaurant-quality) for sale in the basement Depato grocery stores in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro where I stayed. Eating out at sit-down places in Tokyo seemed a bit pricey: I loved that for anywhere from 600 to 900 yen you could get really good sushi at the depato and just head out, find a park or something and then chow down. I’m sure I got some odd looks from the locals but whatever its alright I’m canadian anyway. :D.
Ha ha, I agree. I love all the food you can get at the many counters in the basement of most department stores….
I agree with most of the impressions of Jiro presented here. However, I liked the film and found it more objective. Also, for the record, the singer/songwriter is Jonathan Richman and the lyric is “Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole.” While the point of the song may apply to Jiro — whose disposition seems above reproach by most of the people around him — misquoted in this way, Asakawa’s point is less clear.