Blog Response: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Located underground in a subway of Tokyo, Japan, there is a small restaurant called Subayashi Jiro. In Subayashi, there is a man named Jiro Ono; brilliant, mysterious, and renowned as the greatest sushi chef in all of Japan. To try his Michelin 3 star sushi, you must make reservations months in advance. The cost to eat at Subayashi is expensive, and if you can afford it, it is said to be worth every Yen spent. But to Jiro, it isn’t about the money, it’s about something else.

I recently had the pleasure of watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi on netflix upon recommendation, and can say it is well worthy of this blog response. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary about master sushi chef Jiro Ono and his quest to seek perfection. The documentary succeeds very well in capturing the brilliance of Jiro. His legacy, influence, perfection is comparable to that of a great dojo master. His training is hard, and if you can last the 10 years as an apprentice to Jiro, you have succeeded in becoming a chef at his restaurant.

One trait that defines Jiro is his longing to always seek perfection, while knowing fully well he will never reach it. This is a trait reminiscent of many great artists, some that come to mind are MC Escher and Stanley Kubrick. Two artists known for never being truly satisfied in their work.

One major conflict in Jiro Dreams of Sushi is Jiro’s son Yoshikazu. Yoshikazu is already 50 years old, and still is yet to take over Jiro’s position as head of the restaurant. It is likely that Jiro will be the head of Subayashi until he dies, and as influential as he is, even though Yoshikazu’s sushi is almost identical in quality and taste to Jiro’s, he will never reach the level of greatness Jiro has achieved. Another conflict the film deals with is the shortage on seafood compared to when Jiro was young due to overfishing. This is something that has only gotten worse as years have gone by, which raises the question; will sushi as good as sushi cooked up in the kitchen of Subayashi always be around?

Jiro Dreams of Sushi redefines, at least on a personal level, what it means to be an artist. Jiro proves that art does not just come from a paintbrush or a camera lens. It can be boiled, baked, diced up and served on a platter as well.