Why do Japanese people eat RAW FISH?

You have probably wondered why we Japanese eat so much raw fish? Well, to begin with, I think it’s a very subjective answer, that is, it depends on the person you ask this question to. However, the first answer that I would give you if you asked me would be “We eat raw fish because it tastes very good” And I think that would be the most immediate and sincere answer that any person who likes to eat raw fish, be it Japanese or No. And since I think that is not so much the answer you were expecting, we are going to dig a little deeper to find the historical reason why Japan began to eat raw fish.

As you may well know, Japan is an island and has been for basically as long as we have written history and eating fish was the obvious choice. Although there are fish dishes that are roasted, cooked over a fire, boiled and baked, they can also be prepared raw. Raw fish began to be eaten for various reasons, these included taste and because according to Shinto traditions it was a cleaner way to eat it.

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Within the local, folkloric and historical Japanese religion, the fresher the fish was, the purer it was, so it was the best way to eat this food for religious reasons.

This was also added to the fact that when Buddhism entered Japan from China, the Buddhist teachings invited not to eat red meat, that is, meat from mammals or even poultry meat. So all the people who began to follow this religion also began to abandon the custom of eating any type of meat and this apart joined another belief within Shintoism and this is that everything related to blood and death was considered something dirty, so the people who worked hunting wild boar or deer, or other types of red meat, butchers were also considered dirty, impure people, so all this added to the fact that people increasingly sought to eat more seafood and less meat.

From there we have different fish dishes because it is not always eaten raw. Especially the raw fish that is eaten in Japan is fish that comes from the sea, it is almost never freshwater fish, it does exist but there are fewer cases. What happened with the fish that came from the sea is that it was easy to sell it to the interior of the country by wrapping it in fermented rice. In this way they could keep the fish meat very clean, free of bacteria due to fermentation and be able to sell or consume it within the country.

Also, at the same time, the fish that comes from the sea does not contain certain parasites that are very harmful and contagious to humans, as there are in freshwater fish. They cut it immediately, probably removing it with a single thrust on the head of the fish, that is why the term ‘sashimi’ which means cut body, that is, it was a way of keeping the meat cleaner from any type of substance or even proteins or other chemical substances that the same fish he caught before he died.

This is very similar to the techniques that were also used in the West, for example to make sausages or to be chorizo, or salami and ham and all this type of cold meat, simply that in Japan the fermentation was in fish meat.

At first, when they were going to consume this fish, they threw away the rice with which it came wrapped, but people began to find this a waste, so they began to consume the rice together with the fish. This also began to develop more with rice vinegar because it was easier to vinegar the rice and make it technically fermented in a very short time, and it became a flavor that people also began to look for and this was the birth of ‘sushi’ .

Another safety point that also influenced cooking and flavor was the use of soy, ginger and wasabi. These three condiments have antibacterial qualities, so people put them on the fish in order to eliminate any bacteria that had grown on the surface of the fish before consuming it, and this also became part of the culinary tradition and the expected flavor of this dish.

Currently there are much stricter rules of cleanliness and sanitation and therefore you can be sure that if you come to Japan to eat ‘sashimi’ or ‘sushi’, that is, raw fish, you will find it very tasty, very fresh and not dangerous at all. From the almost instant freezing methods, to the sanitation and transportation methods, all these measures have helped a lot to avoid outbreaks of infection and also the fish that is consumed from fresh water in Japan for “sashimi” such as the salmon that It is farm-grown (the salmon has never left the sea) it has never entered fresh water and for this reason it does not contain fresh water parasites that are dangerous to health.

In addition, we have been consuming raw fish for hundreds, if not thousands of years, it is quite safe and it is quite tasty, I assure you. Perhaps it is our elixir to live longer!

There are also many studies that talk about the health benefits of eating raw fish, of course we also understand that not everyone is going to enjoy raw fish like we do and for the same reason you will also find dishes with fish cooked in Japan that are delicious, you can’t miss them. In any case you have to try the fish, since it is something else!

And you have tried raw fish? Tell us in the comments!