Sushi Didn't Start With Raw Fish

The sushi you know today — a jewel of vinegared rice and fresh fish served in sleek restaurants — bears little resemblance to where it began. The origins of sushi are rooted not in celebration, but in practicality: specifically, the challenge of preserving fish in a world without refrigeration.

Narezushi: The Ancient Original (8th–16th Century)

The earliest ancestor of sushi was narezushi (熟れ鮨), a method of preserving freshwater fish — typically carp — in packed salted rice. The fish would be left to ferment for months, even years. During this process, the rice would break down and become sour through lactic acid fermentation, effectively pickling the fish. When it was time to eat, the rice was typically discarded, and only the fish was consumed.

This technique is believed to have arrived in Japan from Southeast Asia or China between the 7th and 9th centuries, carried along with rice cultivation practices. The oldest surviving form, funa-zushi from the shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, is still made today and takes up to three years to ferment. Its flavour is intensely sour, pungent, and complex — a world away from supermarket sushi rolls.

Hayazushi: Speed and Accessibility (16th–18th Century)

As Japan's population grew and urban food culture developed, the lengthy fermentation process of narezushi became impractical. Gradually, cooks began shortening the process — and crucially, they began adding vinegar directly to the rice to mimic the sour flavour that fermentation once produced. This was hayazushi (早ずし): faster sushi, where both the rice and the fish were eaten together.

This was a pivotal shift. Vinegared rice — now flavoured with salt and sugar as well — became the defining feature of sushi rather than a mere fermentation medium. Regional varieties multiplied: pressed sushi (oshizushi), scattered sushi (chirashizushi), and stuffed sushi (inarizushi) all emerged during this period.

Edomae Sushi: The Birth of Nigiri (19th Century)

The transformation that produced the sushi we recognise today happened in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in the early 19th century. Edomae sushi — "sushi in front of Edo" — referred to the fish caught in Tokyo Bay, which was extraordinarily abundant at the time.

In the 1820s, sushi chefs began making nigirizushi: a hand-pressed mound of vinegared rice topped with a slice of fresh seafood. It was fast, affordable, and served from outdoor stalls to hungry urban workers. The fish was often briefly cured, marinated in soy sauce, or lightly seared — partly for flavour and partly because raw fish without refrigeration required careful handling. True raw fish sushi as we know it only became standard once refrigeration became widespread in the 20th century.

Sushi Enters the Modern World

The 20th century brought refrigeration, then global travel, then a sushi explosion unlike anything Japanese food culture had previously experienced. Japanese immigrants and chefs introduced sushi to the United States and Europe, where it was adapted — the California roll, invented in Los Angeles in the 1970s, used avocado and crab in place of raw fish to appeal to unfamiliar diners, and became one of the most popular sushi rolls in the world.

Today, sushi is everywhere: from Tokyo's Tsukiji outer market and high-end omakase counters to convenience store onigiri and airport food halls. The global sushi industry is worth billions, yet the most revered sushi chefs still point back to the same values that shaped edomae sushi two centuries ago: quality ingredients, precise technique, and deep respect for the fish.

What Survives Today

Japan's regional sushi traditions offer a window into this long history:

  • Funa-zushi (Shiga): The oldest surviving narezushi — fermented carp, still made traditionally.
  • Oshizushi (Osaka): Pressed sushi in wooden moulds, often with mackerel or salmon.
  • Kakinoha-zushi (Nara): Sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves, originally for preservation.
  • Sasazushi (Nagano): Sushi wrapped in bamboo leaves — a mountain region's take on the form.

Sushi, in all its forms, is a story of adaptation — a food that has always evolved to meet the needs of its time and place. That it now means something entirely different in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London is perhaps its greatest testament.