🍱 Aburage-zushi/Inari-zushi

The origin of "Aburage-zushi(Inari-zushi)" is a matter of some debate, but it is said to have originated when rice was stuffed into fried thin tofu that had been offered to "Inari-san" and made into a sushi. There are also various theories as to where it originated, and the town in front of "Toyokawa Inari Shrine", one of the three major Inari shrines in Japan, along with Edo and Nagoya, is said to be the birthplace of the dish. "Aburage-zushi(Inari-zushi)" is said to have been invented at "Toyokawa Inari Shrine" in the latter half of the Edo period (1603-1867). Nagoya's "Aburage-zushi" is characterized by the fact that it is filled with sweet and spicy fried thin tofu and "sushi rice(=vinegared rice)", and the bottom is not closed. It is said that Nagoya was the first place to call the combination of “Aburage-zushi" and “Makizushi" “Sukeroku". There is a theory that the name "Sukeroku" comes from the main character in the Kabuki play "Sukeroku Yukari no Edozakura (Sukeroku's Relation to Edo Cherry Blossoms)" (18 plays). The name of Sukeroku's mistress, “Age-maki", may have been taken from the word "Age" and likened to "Aburage-zushi", which is made of fried thin tofu, and the fact that “Sukeroku" came wearing a "Hachimaki (a type of sushi roll)" may have been compared to “Maki-zushi", It is said that “Sukeroku" may have compared it to “Maki-zushi" since he had rolled it up. In the town in front of "Toyokawa Inari Shrine", “Inari-zushi" has long been sold and served to visitors to the shrine. The standard “Inari-zushi" made of fried thin tofu in “Dashi (=Japanese soup stock)" and "sushi rice(=vinegared rice) is popular, but many stores also offer creative “Aburage-zushi" as part of their efforts to revitalize the town.