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FEATURESaturday 15 August 2015
Sushi showdown: Women challenge one of Japan’s male bastions
YURI KAGEYAMA customers, and they’re She said people have ridi- ready stagnant economy ed to deliveries and dish-
AP Business Writer kind and gentle,” said Yuki culed her restaurant when would only get worse un- washing.
TOKYO (AP) — Some jobs in Chidui, 28, sushi chef and they walk in. Sometimes less women are freed from Masayuki Tsukada, 34, who
Japan, a nation known for manager at the all-women male customers taunt her their status of homemaker started training to become
its poor record on gender Nadeshico sushi restaurant and ask: “Can you really and child-bearer to con- a sushi chef at 18, shrugs
equality, have been off in Tokyo. do it?” tribute more to production off how there are so few
limits to women for ages. Unlike the usual “itamae,” There are no official statis- and growth. female colleagues.
The sushi counter, for one. as sushi chefs are called, tics on the number of fe- The government wants “It’s just prejudice,” he said,
stressing that what counts
Yuki Chidui, sushi chef and manager at Nadeshico sushi restaurant, shows off a set of sushi she made at her all-women restaurant is experience, such as be-
ing able to talk and keep
in Tokyo. Deeply rooted stereotypes such as the so-called “Edo-style” macho demeanor of sushi chefs and belief that warmer straight all the orders and
names of fish at the same
body temperature of women leads to inferior taste have kept sushi preparation an almost exclusively male domain in Japan. But time as well as preparing
the sushi in front of the cus-
some women are out to challenge tradition and are learning the art of sushi at a time when the government is emphasizing a tomer.
Establishments where Tsu-
greater role for women to offset Japan’s shrinking workforce. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) kada and other profession-
als work charge 10,000 yen
Sushi is emblematic of Ja- with their closely cropped male sushi chefs in Japan women to fill 30 percent ($100) or more for dinner,
pan’s profound cultural hair and crisp cocky lan- but they are rare, accord- of leadership positions by about three times what
influence globally. It has guage, Chidui is soft-spo- ing to the All Japan Su- 2020, an ambitious goal Nadeshico charges. Their
crossed borders, acquiring ken and almost child-like, shi Association, which given that women now menus tend to be fancier,
non-Japanese ingredients wearing a white summer groups 5,000 sushi restau- make up only 8 percent of with exotic fish, such as
such as avocado in the kimono splashed with pink rant owners nationwide such positions in compa- marbled tuna or rare types
process. That, however, is blossoms. and estimates Japan has nies hiring 100 people or of baby fish.
the limit of the cultural in- She has purposely avoided 35,000 sushi chefs in total. more. But the profession is gradu-
terchange. trying to look the part. Her Forbidding women in cer- Even within that effort, ally opening up. Tokyo Su-
Deeply rooted stereotypes store’s motto is “fresh and tain spots dates back cen- there is no crackdown shi Academy offers two-
such as the so-called “Edo- kawaii,” or “cute.” Flyers turies in Japan, where cul- on specific industries bar- month crash courses in su-
style” macho demeanor depict her as a doe-eyed ture viewed menstruation ring women, said Takaaki shi-dom, with about a fifth
of sushi chefs and belief manga character. Chidui’s as tainted, a primordial Kakinuma, an official at of the Japanese students
women’s warmer body assistant, who switched fear Western feminists have the government Gender being female. A third of
temperature leads to in- from working as a tour-bus also historically had to de- Equality Bureau Cabinet the students from abroad
ferior taste have kept su- guide two months ago, bunk. Office. are women.
shi preparation an almost wears “manga” buttons on The sumo ring is another “The initiative is about get- “More women are accept-
exclusively male domain in her outfit. place billed as too sacred ting women in leadership ed as sushi chefs at casual
Japan. Chidui had been in a rut for women. These days positions,” he said. restaurants, and more so
But some women are out and felt confined work- women routinely take part Becoming a sushi chef is abroad than they are in
to challenge tradition. ing at a department store in amateur sumo, but the an arduous process, requir- Japan. The traditional su-
They’re learning the art when she decided to number of female profes- ing several years to learn shi places are still male-
of sushi at a time when the gamble on starting her sional sumo wrestlers still re- how to ball up a decent dominated,” said Sachiko
government is emphasiz- own business. It hasn’t mains zero. “nigiri”sushi, and at least a Goto, the academy’s prin-
ing a greater role for wom- been easy. In recent years, the Japa- decade to properly run a cipal.
en to offset Japan’s shrink- She has endured insults nese government has restaurant. Chefs-in-train- Still, those enjoying their
ing workforce. and blatant questioning of made encouraging wom- ing usually aren’t permit- meal at Nadeshico said
“I think women are better her abilities since opening en in the workforce its ted to hold a knife for the they liked what they were
at communicating with Nadeshico five years ago. mission, seeing that an al- first year, getting allocat- getting.
“This tastes so good,” said
Masataka Nakayama, 40,
a physical therapist, guz-
zling down beer and sushi.
He came from Sendai,
northeastern Japan, on the
bullet train with his friend to
check out back-to-back
concerts by AKB 48, a fe-
male singing-and-dance
group.
Sushi at Nadeshico, served
by women, who didn’t
seem that different from
AKB 48 members, seemed
the perfect way to end the
visit, he said.
Chidui laments how some
Japanese are forgetting
the delights of sushi, a dish
that’s deceptively simple
but requires a lot of prep-
aration ahead of time to
deliver a fine but varied
taste.q
