Sushiei was established in 1848 in the Hatagocho 3-chome, district of Kanda, Tokyo (now Soto-Kanda 1-chome, near Shoheibashi Bridge) by Eizo, the fifth son of the Kurata family, which ran a wholesale green-grocery store in Kyobashi-Daikongashi, Tokyo. Today, Sushiei is the oldest existing Edo-style sushi restaurant, with Genji Kurata, the 5th Sushiei Master, carrying on the family banner.

<History of Sushi>

Sushi originated with Narezushi (a kind of sushi for which the fish and rice are fermented naturally). Entering the Edo period, Hayazushi (a kind of sushi for which salted fish and vinegared rice are pressed together overnight) was developed. Osaka-style Sushi (also known as Hakozushi or Oshizushi), for which the rice and fish are pressed in boxes, was developed in the Kansai region. In contrast, impatient Edo-ites were unable to wait for the time it took to press the sushi, and so Edo-style sushi (also known as Nigirizushi), for which the fish and rice are hand-rolled together. Later, during the Taisho period, Chakin Sushi was created when vinegared rice mixed with vegetables was served wrapped in thin sheets of egg at tea parties held by the Fushimi-no-miya branch of the Imperial Family.

For Osaka-style Sushi, the fish and rice are thoroughly pre-flavored, so there is no need to dip the sushi in soy sauce when eating it. In contrast, Edo-style sushi used mainly fresh raw fish, and so is dipped in soy sauce when eaten. In addition, Osaka-style sushi has always been made with vinegared rice, which was a luxury food when sushi was first invented, but Edo-style sushi was originally made using vinegar made from inexpensive, easily obtained sake wine lees (red vinegar).

Established in 1790, Fukujuen has a long history, beginning as a tea selling business founded by Fukui Iemon in Yamashiro-no-kuni Kamikoma (now Yamashiro-cho, Kizugawa-shi, Kyoto Prefecture), which was a trading center for goods as a crossing point for the Yamato-kaido and Iga-kaido roads as well as a landing place for boats traveling down the Kizugawa River to Osaka and Kobe.
Taking tea, which has long sustained the Japanese spirit and lifestyle, across national boundaries and generations, Fukujuen aims to disseminate tea throughout not only Japan but the world, crating happy times and scenarios for the world’s people.

Descending from Imperial Court officials involved in the holding of festivals at the Imperial Court, the Oimatsu family has for generations created sweets used in Imperial Court ceremonies and rituals, as well as sweets used in tea ceremonies, and thus the store was granted the title Yushokugashi Gochoshinsho (“Supplier of Confectionary for Court Nobles”).
Confectionary plays a tremendous role in Japanese culture. Culture is born wherever people gather, and in order to carefully preserve Japanese culture, Oimatsu is tirelessly breathing new spirit into Japanese sweets while remaining true to the traditions of Kyoto confectionary.

More than 200 years ago, in 1804, the 1st KAMESUEHIRO Master, Kameya Gensuke , who was a kamashi (tea bot maker) in Fushimi-Daigo, came to Kyoto and established KAMESUEHIRO. It is said that KAMESUEHIRO provided sweets to Nijo Castle, where the Tokugawa Clan would stay during the Edo period, as well as to the Old Imperial Palace before the capital was moved to Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Drawing attention even amongst the long-established stores lining Kyoto’s Anekoji-dori street, the store sign reading Okashi-Tsukasa (“Confectionary Master”) KAMESUEHIRO is framed with recycled wood from numerous wooden molds that had been used only once. Ingeniously creating designs in the form of seasonal plants and flowers, the store’s 3rd Master is said to have originated the technique for expressing flora in weathered and richly colored “dry sweets”. The shapes and colors of these sweets are all so elegant that they could be straight out of a Haiku or Waka poem.

SUIGIAN serves highly sustainable, environmentally friendly “Blue Seafood”.

Because of global warming and overfishing in recent years, it is said that the supply of marine products is in danger of depletion. Providing a list of “Blue Seafood” with comparatively abundant resource quantities, the “Blue Seafood Guide” provides knowledge enabling consumers to make sustainable selections while enjoying seafood under the motto “Delicious, Enjoyable, Environmentally Friendly”.