Book Review: The Sushi Economy
Hansjakob Werlen - History Review
Apr 23, 2008
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, by Sasha Issenberg
New York: Gotham Books 323 pp., $26.00, ISBN 978-1-592-40294-6
Sasha Issenberg's riveting account of the emergence of a once rather obscure Japanese street food staple as a universally desired indulgence and prime indicator of global economic development is both very informative and entertaining. Initially assigned to write on this topic for Philadelphia Magazine, Issenberg soon found himself immersed in the multiple histories behind the sushi phenomenon. Through firsthand observation and careful research on five different continents, the author vividly illuminates the fortuitous confluence of those histories-economic, social, technological, and culinary-and its profound worldwide influence.
The first part of the book, titled "The Freight Economy," consists of four chapters that fit together like jagged pieces of a large puzzle. The completed picture shows why and how bluefin tuna from the North Atlantic coast-previously considered inedible and a nuisance fish-became the most precious air cargo bound for export to Japan's Tsukiji fish market. Fitting seemingly disparate parts into a convincing whole for the benefit of readers is a major strength of Issenberg's narration pattern. Subsequent chapters might list more global locations than a Bond movie, but the far-flung locales illustrate the global interconnectedness of the sushi economy in an exemplary way.
The second part of the book, titled "The Food Economy," follows the expansion of sushi to Southern California and from there to the rest of the United States. Sushi's wide acceptance by U.S. consumers was dependent on many simultaneous developments, like a new openness for foreign cuisines and the newly found appreciation for simple, fresh food; healthy eating; and Japanese aesthetics. However, restaurants did their best to meet local taste preferences, as evinced by that great staple of the U.S. sushi experience: the California roll. It is no coincidence that the itinerant Japanese sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa started his restaurant empire in Los Angeles, with sushi preparations that stray far from tradition. In another chapter, Issenberg tells the fascinating story of Texas chef Tyson Cole, who, through determination, talent, and excellent schooling by Austin's best Japanese sushi chefs, has become one of the few renowned non-Japanese sushi chefs. Cole debunked stereotypes of Japanese superiority in sushi craft and taste, which is welcome because this is a business where "ethnic symmetry was a matter of image as well as culinary integrity" (133).
Concurrent with the emergence of sushi as global cuisine and the status of bluefin tuna as a highly prized delicacy, the inevitable dark side of the global sushi trade emerges-from collapsing tuna stocks to international tuna smuggling rings. As the New England tuna fishing business suffers from overfishing in countries as far away as the Mediterranean, tuna "ranchers" in Australia and other countries try to overcome erratic availability and vanishing sustainability of bluefin by ranching the fish in off-shore pontoons. At Kinki University in Japan, tuna is farmed (i.e., bred and raised in captivity), a difficult and costly undertaking. Although laws against overfishing exist, there is often no enforcement. The book's last chapter describes the most recent development in the global sushi saga-a development that does not bode well for tuna stocks around the world. The Chinese have discovered sushi, and Japanese restaurant entrepreneurs are readily obliging their new craving, even if it could mean, as one observer wistfully remarks, that within a short time the only good tuna, now a privilege of Japan, will only be found in restaurants in China.
Issenberg has an intellectual and visceral connection to sushi, and in the book, the historian's penchant for factual presentation is balanced by the novelist's eye for descriptive detail, mostly to good and humorous effect. Although the frequent evocation of samurai culture might only relate to sushi chefs on the level of simile, Issenberg's descriptions bring the esoteric world of sushi alive. Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market "is a vast and unnavigable messy farrago of tight streets and hectic crossings, the result of years of constant adjustment combining the spirit of creative destruction and nostalgic neglect" (258).
Concerning questions of taste and tradition, Issenberg seems to take a laissez-faire attitude that embraces all sushi styles. He equally hedges his bets when addressing the question of the imperiled status of many types of fish- contrary to the urgent warnings of many environmental groups. After reading about the many ironic twists and unexpected turns of sushi's global ascendance, the disappearance of the tuna would be a sad coda to this fascinating story.
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