Cash, keeping clean, we wouldn't be talking about money-laundering!? Yin-yang, In-yo (if you prefer) or two sides of a coin.. either way there are people out there that value things above others. I tend to value chocolate above beer, but this probably puts me in the minority (of adults at least).
I'll take yen...USD...ya know...cash..
I wouldn't doubt the sushi chef's/manager's skill one bit. He was the overlord and taught those guys everything....I have nothing but serious respect for the craftsman of Japan...actually make that craftsman everywhere. IMHO they are the last of the thinking crowd...in the vein of "Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance" (which I dislike, but in a juxtaposition enjoyed many parts within the antidotes) and "Shop Class as Soulcraft" (a book I cannot recommend enough). Alex, that is one of the best posts ever. Awesome and thank you for blessing me with it man. FYI Alex is one of a few elite people in Japan actually studying an ancient craft...the Tsukamaki (sword handle wrapping). He's a true craftsman and let it be know that his work is quintessential to preserving the true spirit of Japan. Of course he'll show up and deny it...but I'll say it anyway. Plus he kicks my ass with the sword...
Since I wrote that, I had a chance to check with my source (my wife, who was in the bathroom when I wrote my first post ). One of her closest friends at High School is the daughter of a Sushi Chef. Together, they both worked part-time at the restaurant. It was big enough to have several trainee chefs and they would chat during the quiet time between service. The Chef himself was the younger brother in a family of Sushi Chefs (should I call them Sushi Masters?), whose eldest brother had taken over the family business, which had a chain of restaurants (across Japan and also in Canada). He (the younger brother) had set up his own business with a small Sushi bar near a station, which earned enough to build a three-storey building for his second restaurant. The new restaurant had about 7-8 counter staff, with another 3-4 serving staff. The youngest apprentice chef was 15 years old, so spending 5 years on the rice-washing would only bring him up to the age when the university graduates are piling into the restaurant to blow their parents' money. Perhaps one of the unexpected things about these junior chefs, was their relaxed and chatty attitude. But since that is considered part of the role of the sushi chef - being a pleasant and talkative host - it all comes under the heading of work experience. Another oddity that came up when I was double-checking her memory banks. Although her friends father was definitely the Boss of the restaurant, and the only one to go to Tsukiji to buy the fish, she has no recollection of him actually cutting. She can't quite remember what clothes he wore, but she has a feeling that he wasn't actually doing any of the chef-work. We wondered whether he had possibly "graduated" from that part of the business, or whether he had always been a business man, a restaurant manager rather than a Sushi Chef. I suspect he was an example of the artisan that moved up into a non-performing role through choice. How would that match up to the traditional progress through other "arts"? I was reminded a little of the progress of a junior doctor, who works ridiculous hours to gain experience... then at the end of a successful career has become an administrator who never actually talks to patients at all.
Originally Posted by Tripitaka of AA Russ, have you ever spoken with a Sushi Chef? Perhaps you could confirm what I have been told; I heard a story that new entrants into a good kitchen can expect to wash the rice for the first five years (!). A mundane and soul-destroying task that is expected to be performed following precise directions without question. Only after this stage of the apprenticeship is complete, could the student expect to be trusted with anything close to the job for which they are training. It matches some of the stories in your article, but I don't know if it is apocryphal, or simply an old tale that has grown bigger for effect. Apprenticeships run a little differently. To even get in the front door takes time (usually multiple visits), sometimes some connections, an honest understanding of WHYWHYWHY you want to do it, and, to some degree, to be liked by the guy in charge. The early stages of the apprenticeship may sometimes seem like menial work or a weeding out process. In some small ways it is those things. In truth, however, the tasks are made up of the most fundamental of basics that are so necessary to get right. Lets take sushi. It's true that for the first chunk of time for an apprentice he won't even touch fish. He'll be cleaning, he'll be washing and cooking rice, preparing rice, learning to tend to and sharpen knives as well as many other tasks. Eventually, after a few years of that, he will begin to be shown how to break down a whole fish but still no sushi or sashimi. A long waays into the apprenticeship the deshi will eventually be taught how to prepare the most basic yet important of dishes for a sushi chef: maguro sashimi. They will eventually move on to other things but the ultimate test of a sushi chefs skill is through his maguro sashimi. It is a seemingly simple dish yet, by far, the easiest one to screw up. There are no adornments or ways of hiding mistakes. The chef's skill will come through with his ability to prepare the most basic of dishes. This is why all those earlier tasks are so important. The inculcation of all those minor details (as well as a zealotry for understanding them) comes together and takes something basic and propels it into the extraordinary. The sushi chef knows that his ability to make maguro sashimi doesn't just come from practicing slicing maguro. It is the sum of all of his training, all of his understanding of the entirety of his art. So many arts and crafts of Japan start this way. Swordsmiths? Cutting charcoal. Swordpolishing? Books and oshigata. Noh Mask making? Tending to tools and drawing and, like the maguro sashimi, the most basic mask you learn is the simple woman's mask. Training begins with learning the woman mask, continues with all sorts of others masks, and ends with the simple woman mask. I met a potter who told me that the first year of his apprenticeship, besides cleaning and watching, was kneading clay. For a whole year, just kneading clay. All the steps have a purpose, big or small. Even with a task so seemingly simple or mundane as cleaning the dojo, as we progress on our journey we must always return to the same basic tasks or movements or practices; and depending on how we physically perform and mentally/emotionally understand these tasks we can be shown just how far we've come or if at all.
every yin has yen so for all those that stay clean in the world the rest are dirty.
I've have never had the chance to speak with one, but that would not surprise me. That sounds like a typical intern, I would suspect that they do all the cleaning and prep for the Sushi masa as well. However do not see how five years could be possible unless under a very special situation. I have a feeling there is probably more to that story, perhaps some of it drifting into urban legend, but it seems much more cool with the "five years rice washer" spin to it.
Russ, have you ever spoken with a Sushi Chef? Perhaps you could confirm what I have been told; I heard a story that new entrants into a good kitchen can expect to wash the rice for the first five years (!). A mundane and soul-destroying task that is expected to be performed following precise directions without question. Only after this stage of the apprenticeship is complete, could the student expect to be trusted with anything close to the job for which they are training. It matches some of the stories in your article, but I don't know if it is apocryphal, or simply an old tale that has grown bigger for effect.
Originally Posted by Taijixiaojia I can't find how to post a blog. Can you help me? I'm not sure new users can. It should be on your CP settings though, if available.
Pray for Japan. I can't find how to post a blog. Can you help me?
Originally Posted by AlexJK Sorry Russ. Even Touyama Sensei in Seki says I should try to relax my face.... Umm....YEAH! Do that?
Sorry Russ. Even Touyama Sensei in Seki says I should try to relax my face....
Hi Mekugi, and thank you for responding. Very excelent point. You are so righ memorizing is not the same as understanding at all. Infact in nursing school one of the worst things a student can do is simply memorize facts without understanding the reason for things. I would expect this is true no matter what a person studies...even tea ceremonies. I did know that there are buffets and fast foods are universal, interesting tid bits about Aesop's fables though. It's been so long I've even heard one of those I cant tell you. Anyway, what I meant to say is I agree with you. Something that detailed and purposeful should have a greater meaning than just showing off the good bowls. Great article. :-)
Very good points...however regarding fast food and all you can eat buffets (called "Viking" here) I would abandone any idealism about Japan. Those things are here, and they actually envy the West. That being said, what I am trying to say with this little piece is that the ritual has overcome the meaning. I think you'll agree that memorization is not understanding; a true understanding of why we do things makes it easier to remember them. It's the same reason Aesop's fables have been around so long...speaking of which, those are popular here but unfortunatly many people think they are traditional Japanese stories and sometimes there are odd twists in them to suit the culture.
I loved the article, and I do agree that things such as etiquite in any culture need to be put into perspective. The idea behind all etiquitte is supposed to be to make others feel comfortable and not to be used as some form of snobbery or elitism. That being said, I just wanted to put a view point out there as to why someone (like myself) would want to learn the tea ceremony. The main reason is, my degree is in nursing. In that field of study something as simple as putting on a pair of sterile gloves is a tedious cumbersome process that can lead any student into a great deal of anxiety. Its a series of simple steps for something so basic, but the pace and timing of each step is necessary to prevent contaminants from entering your sterile field. Likewise with the tea ceremony...it's not just the tea itself its the process. Remembering steps and actions in a peaceful setting helps to remember them in a stressful one. I think the tea ceremony is beneficial in lowering anxiety and helping with memory problems. I do agree that fancy bowls and intricately designed napkins are not necessary for this process. However ritualized routines such as this are known to decerease anxiety and lower blood pressure. Plus, comming from a world of fast food and all you can eat buffetts I find it refreshing to see a moment in which so much focus and appreciation is placed on one little cup of tea. Is the art self serving? Maybe, or maybe it can be. But I think no more than any other past time. I think as long as tea ceremonies are put into perspective they have their place.
I actually wrote this in 2007-2008 and thought to re-post it here for prosperity!
Well, the story was off the mark a bit. This is actually called "Sanbai no Cha" or "Three Cups of Tea." The bushi was not just a regular bushi, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the house marm was not a marm at all, but Mitsunari Ishida. Here it is: "Ishida Mitsunari" was a Japanese warlord and bureaucrat during the 16th century. He was born in Omi Province and became an attendant to Toyotomi Hideyoshi(then called Hashiba Hideyoshi).There is an interesting episode when he became an attendant of Hideyoshi. Sometime,Hidesyoshi visited a temple Mitsunari was in and Hideyoshi ask Mitsunari serve a cup of tea (because he was thirsty).So,He give Hidesyoshi a cup of tepid tea.Hideyoshi ask Mitsunari once more.Mitsunari bring a cup of tea little hotter than first.Hideyoshi wanted to drink another cup of tea (because he should enjoy tea).Mitsunari served a cup of hot tea.Hideyoshi was amazed his consideration and recruited Mitsunari.This is a famous episode as "Three cups of tea". Unfortunately, this is probably an older folk story applied to this situation. Ishida turned out to be a bureaucratic bushi in the end.
I just had a conversation about this the other day and a traditional story came up. I am not sure of it's origins, or who wrote it (if anyone did) but it does like this: There was a bushi traveling for his lord through the countryside of Japan during the heat of summer. He was used to the lifestyle of castle towns and the aristocracy, so this was all new to him and he tired quickly. (Depending on the version of the story) the bushi had to escape/fight or deal with some bandits. He ended up in a small village and went to a farmhouse to seek refuge. The bushi was exhausted, out of breath and sweating- in dire need to some liquid. So the marm of the household brought him some tea. To his surprise the tea was cold, and extremely refreshing. This was completely in contrast to what he had learned as a castle town dweller, where tea was always served hot because it was always considered "best". When he had finished, the house 'marm refilled his cup with hot tea. The bushi was curious as to why she did this, so he asked and she replied "You were thirsty, you needed the tea to be cool in order to drink it and quench yourself. After that, you could enjoy a hot cup of tea". Now, this may seem silly as it describes the common sense notion of function over form- but putting it in light of tea ceremony and the way that the culture addresses the "proper one way" to do things it makes a big wave where usually there would be an attempt to make none. It's actually a very well disguised form of social protest, and oddly enough it fits in here. I am looking for a written version of this story, hopefully I can find one and post it here (and it will be as satisfying as I think it may be). -R
Originally Posted by ben Tatsumi Ryu in Sakura City practice in the kendojo of one of these municipal recreation centres. The beautiful thing is that this centre is built on the site of the former castle where, during the Tokugawa Era, the Hotta-ke retainers were trained in, you guessed it, Tatsumi Ryu! b Nice....
Tatsumi Ryu in Sakura City practice in the kendojo of one of these municipal recreation centres. The beautiful thing is that this centre is built on the site of the former castle where, during the Tokugawa Era, the Hotta-ke retainers were trained in, you guessed it, Tatsumi Ryu! b
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