Interviews

1. Going to America after completing a three-year contract twice (Japanese)

2. Opening of Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo (Japanese)

3. Wanting to serve authentic nigiri sushi in America (Japanese)

4. Difficulty of spreading authentic sushi (Japanese)

5. Teaching how to eat sushi (Japanese)

6. Presenting nebuta from hometown Aomori at Nisei Week (Japanese)

7. Becoming a member of nikkei community (Japanese)

8. Why I became an American citizen (Japanese)

9. I’m worried about the future of sushi in America (Japanese)

10. Unforgettable words of my mother (Japanese)

Toyoshima,Toshiaki

(b. 1949) Sushi chef. Owner of Sushi Gen restaurant in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

Wanting to serve authentic nigiri sushi in America (Japanese)

(Japanese) I’d slept on the second floor of a sushi restaurant since I was a child, and I was told to start working from the moment I got up there, they taught me such things, and the things that my master taught me while yelling at me at the same time, those things have become a treasure of mine, so I can’t just replace it with a new one. Even if they say that what I’ve learned is “old,” I have to preserve it and I want to preserve it. I want to preserve and pass on the tradition. I want to keep making the sushi with that belief.

We see a variety of trends now, but these days, well, how should I say this, it’s been divided into two: the authentic nigiri (hand-formed) sushi and the arranged one. They might not even need nigiri - sushi roll shops might be good enough – since Japanese food or sushi has already gained its position in our society, I do my business in the old way as it has been from the old times, in a Japanese town. People often tell me I’m a strange one, running a sushi restaurant without serving this and that, but I explain to them this is our way.

culture food Japanese food sushi United States

Date: April 16, 2016

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mistue Watanabe

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Toshiaki Toyoshima was born on August 21, 1949 in Aomori Prefecture. In 1962, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 16 and received his training to become a chef as a live-in trainee at a sushi restaurant, while taking evening classes at the same time. Later he joined Sanchoukai, a chefs’ association, and worked at a number of sushi restaurants. In 1973, he signed a contract to work at a restaurant, Tokyo Kaikan, in Los Angeles for three years, and moved to America. After finishing the contract, he went back to Japan once but was asked by Tokyo Kaikan to work for them again, which led him to sign another contract of three years and return to Los Angeles. Upon completing his second contract, he decided to stay in America, and in 1980, he opened “Sushi Gen” in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. He worked for the foundation of Aomori Kenjinkai (prefectural association) of Southern California and contributed to the development of nikkei communities in Los Angeles. In addition, he became the first chairperson of the Nebuta Performance Preservation Committee in 2007, and has committed to the inheritance of Japanese culture. In 2015, he received an award by the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles. (May 2018)