Sukeroku&Agemaki

A representational food of Japan would be sushi. This is seafood placed on top of a small piece of molded vinegared rice, which can be an expensive food depending on the place and ingredients. However, there is sushi for people to enjoy for those who would like to eat it at a reasonable price, and who don't like raw seafood very much. It's called "Sukeroku".

Sukeroku Bento

Inarizushi is sushi made of aburage (thinly slicced fried tofu. When the edge of the rectangle is cut, it's like a pouch) cooked in soy sauce and sugar with rice packed inside. Futomaki-zushi is the kind of sushi with vinegared rice wrapped in dried seaweed. The centre has ingredients like cucumber, grilled egg and Shiitake.

Now, why is such a sushi set named after an old name for a man, Sukeroku?

The reason is because, it originates from a Kabuki music program called "Sukeroku yukari no Edo zakura". This story was very popular among people during the Edo period, and the main character's name was Sukeroku. His lover's name was Agemaki. In other words, her name contains age = Inarizushi with aburage and maki = Futomaki, which are words associated with sushi. Also, by not directly calling this sushi combination agemaki, but rather calling it Sukeroku, the lover's name, you can feel the novelty of the Edo people.

Sukeroku yukarino Edozakura by Kunisada Utagawa