History

About 600 years ago, sushi had been prepared mainly in Kyoto.  (Kyoto means 'the capital.')  The way they prepared it was a bit different from now. Sushi had to be aged two days before it was eaten.  The shape of sushi was also a bit different and looked almost like a roll.  Sushi was quite a delicacy then.

By 1610 the central power of Japan had already shifted to Tokyo from Kyoto.  (Tokyo means 'the east of the capital.')  While John Smith was baking his own cornbread in Jamestown, the common people of Tokyo were ready to change sushi, according to their middle-class attitude.

The common people of Tokyo were (and still are) infamous for their short-temper and devotion to the fire and fight (not the firewok!).  They were impatient & impetuous. 'Edokko' as the common people of Tokyo were called ('Edo' is the ancient name of Tokyo) simply could not wait 2 days to eat the wonderful Kyoto delicacy.  In Edo, the food should be fresh and fast. 'Edokko' changed the traditional sushi form to the new style, known as 'Edo-Mae sushi.'  ('Mae' means 'style.')  The traditional roll style changed to an independent tiny riceball.  Upon which the Edokko placed a fresh-cut piece of fish.

Later on, washabi was added precisely between the rice-ball and a piece of fish, since they discovered washabi will pick up richer flavor and give spicy sensation to the dish.

This distinguished sushi-style was called 'Nigiri-zushi.' ('Nigiri' means 'clinched.')  They meant sushi rice was clinched, not pressed or rolled. The short-tempered Edokko also loved to be busy.  So, if sushi rice was firm enough to be held in a hand easily, they thought they could just stop by the diner and satisfy their hunger by grabbing some sushi.

'When you feel the hunger, why wait?'  This 'Snickers®' Principle' worked very well on Edokko's impatient bellies back then.  Besides, this hasty living-pace was the real spirit of the future metropolitan Tokyo.

Thus Japan’s first fast-food was ready to roll. There were a bunch of sushi stand-diners all over town after Edokko established their cool food.  When they felt hungry, they just stopped by the stand, asked the chef to 'Nigiri' some sushi.  When the chef served them sushi with their favorite fish-piece, they grabbed the piece, precisely using 3 finger tips only (so don't depend on your palm.)-these are the thumb, the pointer finger, and the

middle finger.

This method is interesting since Japanese do not use their fingers or hands to eat any dish except for sushi.  At the same time, when you pick up sushi with your fingers in

traditional position, 'Nigiri' sushi should not fall apart.  If it does, it fails the Edokko's main intention.

When Edokko eats sushi, he should hold sushi with 3 fingers and eat it in one bite or two.  One bite is ideal so as to avoid  piece falling apart, but this way is not recommended for the ladies.

Etiquette

Edokko don't call sushi place 'restaurant.'  If you do, the chef will be furious since they do have their pride serving Japanese traditional food-as-art.

When you step in the sushi place, you make a decision to sit at the counter or 'Zashiki.' (It's a table-seat, but we did not use the westernized table until after  WWII. )

Generally, the counter-seat was known as 'Okonomi’ (favorite seat).  It means you will order piece by piece, not a combination or so-called 'chef's choice.' This seat will cost you a bit more since you order piecemeal.

'Zashiki' seat was known as the 'family' seat.  It means you can feed your company for less, taking advantage of the combination (that's 'sushi-dinner combo' in the US) or chefs' choice (moriwase). You are not allowed to order piece by piece since the counter is too far for that purpose. But you are allowed to order additional 'Nigiri,' or whatever you desire, whenever you feel like it.

Regardless of where you sit, the first thing brought to you is a hot towel (Oshiboli).  As I mentioned before, sushi is an unusual Japanese dish since chop-sticks are not used.  So, you definitely need a hot towel before you eat.

Typically a table-server will bring you a cup of green tea while you  pick  your dinner.  Usually the dinner is served with a peculiar soup, called 'osui-mono.'  Not to be confused with 'Miso-soup.' When you sip this kind of soup (and also 'miso-soup'), as you exactly

did, Karl, pick up the bowl with your hands and sip the soup very carefully. (Since the soup may be very hot.)  Then eat the stuff at the bottom ('Gu') with your chop-sticks. 

Caution: We do not use a spoon on these kind of soups.  If the soup was the kind which required you to have a spoon, you would see a wooden one among your utensils.

After the soup, you might want to eat ante-sushi dish so-called 'suno-mono.'  This dish is simply marinated fish pieces and for the advance sushi-eater.  Gregory Pastorius loves this.

Now, finally your sushi plate has arrived in front of you.  On the plate, there should be two lines of 'Nigiri' and a tiny pile of wasabi and a tiny pile of pink gingers. (I'm talking about an ordinary combo: A sushi-dinner.)  You don't get this set-up for a piece by piece ordering at the counter.  Refills of wasabi and ginger are free just by asking.

BEVERAGE

Young Japanese definitely eat sushi with beer.  (Japanese beers are strong enough to serve with sushi dinner.)  Plum wine is very popular in summertime. Ladies especially love it because of its sweetness and easiness.  However, this wine is also very, very strong, so people usually have a tiny shot before the  meal.

CONDOMENTS

As you mentioned, ginger plays a roll for refreshing your mouth to taste another 'Nigiri' since 'Nigiri' has very independent flavor for each item according to what fish piece is on it.  Although finishing all the gingers you had on your plate at the end of the meal is ideal to avoid sushi-breath, gingers are a bit too hot for some people to finish them all. That's widely accepted, so do not try to finish all the ginger if you think you cannot.

As I mentioned before, wasabi plays a very important roll in sushi. However, a tiny bomb inside 'Nigiri' is enough to pick up the flavor.  Basically, if you cannot take bombs, 'Edokko' will call you 'a beginner.'  (Children are obviously in this category.)  It's  acceptable [to be a light-weight] since some people really can't take hot stuff (my sister cannot.)  So, it doesn't mean that all advanced sushi eaters will make a strong wasabi-paste like the one Gregory Pastorius is notorious to make.

FAQs

Q: When I went to Yamato, there were pickle slices between the Wasabi & ginger. I had never seen this in N.Y.

A: Pickle slices, called 'Oshinko,' are prohibited on a sushi plate.  To tell you the truth, I can't figure out what role the pickle slices play on the sushi plate. Moreover, the chefs' opinions differ: It goes with sushi, NO, it does not...so, some chefs put 'Oshinko' as a side dish, some never.  But one thing for sure: NOT on a sushi plate.

Pickle slices are commonly found on Japanese table, so it's almost inevitable to see them when you have a meal with a Japanese family.  So, maybe these die-hard 'Oshinko' do go with sushi.

Enough on this.  You're pretty hungry for sushi by now.  So you grab a 'Nigiri' with your 3 finger grip and...yes, you will put a bit of soy-sauce on the edge of a piece.  This serves the same purpose as wasabi: A bit of soy-sauce will pick up flavor, so you are not supposed to dump a piece in a pond of soy-sauce and wait until a rice changes its color. NEVER!!!!

If a real sushi chef from Tokyo saw you're doing this, he would say you don't need to pay the bill but get the heck out of his sight.  (This is the premium Tokyo attitude: You suck, so I don't even want your money because you suck.)

Q: Should I eat my sushi in any particular order?

A: Yes. When you eat sushi pieces, there is an order. You will take so-called 'lighter' first.  'Light' meaning 'a light-tasting fish. Tamago (egg) will be in this category. After you eat the 'light’ ones, next is 'medium.'  Then, 'heavy.'

Edokko established this order from nature: its taste.  If you started off with heavy-tasting fish piece like Ikura (salmon roe),  you can't taste any flavor in ika (squid).  (Obviously, this little fellow is lighter.) Even if you take ginger to put your tongue back in neutral, it's too late.  So, you should take light ones first and follow the order.

The light-weights are mainly, egg, squid, white fish (shiromi), white clam ( ? )

cooked shrimp (ebi), and octopus (tako). 

The mediums are mostly raw shrimp (ama ebi), ordinary clam ( ? ), conk (conch), and salmon (sake) (This one join traditional Japanese sushi from the US sushi).

The heavy ones are top stars: Uni (sea urchin roe), ikura (salmon roe), red-tuna (maguro), fatty tuna (toro), cooked-eel, and yellow-tail (hamachi).

By the way, we do not serve the California Roll  here, but I'll evaluate this US-born roll as a light-weighter.

FINALLY

I hope that you got a general idea of sushi by now.  (I mean, these are more than general. I had a conversation with young Japanese about these sushi standards, nobody knew all this. Even in Tokyo nowadays, Young Japanese do not have ANY clue about eating sushi.

A girl who works with me told me that sushi should be eaten by dipping it in soy-sauce with a folk (not even a chopsticks! So she advised me that you should follow that manner.)

Another told me that not accepting the changes is not the Tokyo way, but fool's way. Well, young ignorance is universal.

Q: I was told, that if you sit at sushi bar, one should tip the sushi chef generously. Then, how is this done, and should it be separate from the server’s tip?

After a great sushi dinner you pay your bill...Here, we do not tip. Tipping is a western way to pay respect for the chef or other table servers. Here, especially in Tokyo, waitresses are paid around 10 (US) dollars per hour, so your tip for them will be included in your bill.

However, in keeping with the energetic spirit, the Edokko had one way to pay a bill: Do

not accept the change no matter how much the change is. I still ride a cab this ancient Edokko way as one of their descendants.

POST SCRIPT

Q: The yellow tail or white fish I ordered came with a sliver of lemon on it.  Are you supposed to eat it with the sushi?

A: According to my mother, who is a sushi eater, we Japanese do not eat yellow-tail or White Fish with lemon thingy.  However, my mother assumes that it is just for decorative purpose.