I recently watched a documentary entitled Jiro Dreams of
Sushi, which was mad in 2011. It follows a 85 year old man named Jiro Ono he is
a sushi master, he runs a ten seat only sushi bar that is located in a Tokyo
subway station. It has received a 3-star Michelin review and people around the
globe call months in advance in order to obtain a coveted reservation. The menu
is sushi only nothing else and is 20 course set menu and starts at $ 300 US
dollars a plate. Making it one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.
Jiro ono has received many awards for his sushi making and continues to hone
his skill. The documentary follows him through the daily ins and outs of how he
does business. He says that the only way one can truly become a master of his
craft is due the same thing everyday until you obtain perfection and this is
the mentality, that he has passed onto his two sons. The younger of the two
Takashi was allowed to leave his father restaurant and start his own in
Roppongi Hills, which has caused some tension with his older brother Yoshikazu,
who is trapped in the shadow of their father and continues to be his second in
command at the main restaurant where his father still works. He talks in the
documentary how never thought his father would be working this long and
although he is glad for his father. He is ready for his own moment of
recognition and to take on the challenge of running the restaurant full time.
There is also another story going on in this documentary, Jiro was never close
to his family and unlike most Japanese, he does not hold the traditional values
for ones elders both of his sons have that traditional respect that most
Japanese have for the ancestors and elders this some times causes friction with
in the family and is also the context for why Yoshikazu does not want to try to
leave his father Sushi bar, he would rather just take over when he finally
retires. Jiro is obsessed with his craft and no matter what awards he wins or what
compliments he receives he strives to find more perfection in his craft and
this is truly what drives him, to create sushi the way he does and to have
created such a high bar of perfection for himself and his students.
Discussion questions:
1. Do you believe in the United States that the eldest son
would have stayed at his father restaurant instead of taking charge of the new
one?
2. Why do you think that tradition or doing the same thing
over and over again are important to creating sushi?
3. Do you think many people in the have the same amount of
passion for their work as Jiro and his sons and are their possibly cultural
reasons for this passion?
The movie is available on netflix right now and on other
online venues.
I think the United States is different in that the eldest son would not be expected to stay and take over his father's restaurant. I'm sure if he wanted to the father would be pleased but I don't think it would be necesarry.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe too many people have such passion for their work as Jiro and his son. I think this is reflected by the culture. In America, leisure time is emphasized much more and is believed to be important, while in Japan work is seen as a virtue and they feel more at ease when they're working. So it would make more sense that culturally they would enjoy their job more for they take pride in their hard work and achievements.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of repetition is something that is found within Japanese culture. They value their customs and do not believe in the idea of change. I feel this is interesting because Japanese pop culture juxtaposes many traditional beliefs.
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