“We can open the way for other generations of women”
The sushiwoman , from the renowned Ichisou restaurant in Buenos Aires, became the first Argentine to receive the distinction of goodwill ambassador of Japanese gastronomy.
Sushiwoman Alejandra Kano has just been named “Ambassador of Japanese Gastronomy” by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. She is the first Argentine woman - Iwao Komiyama obtained it in 2017 - to receive such a distinction and one of the few women in its history.
“I come from a family of women who have dedicated themselves to gastronomy. My great-great-grandmother had a pastry house in Japan, my grandmother had an 'udon ya ' -Japanese noodle house- and later opened the “Yuki” restaurant in Argentina. And my mother, 'Ichisou'”, details Alejandra, 'shacho ' of the place in Buenos Aires.
Nikkei, chef, business woman and president of the Japo Gastro Club group, for Kano “being a woman in this gastronomic world has never been easy, all over the world they fight to show how capable they are.” With this distinction of goodwill ambassador (31 in total in 2022), Alejandra will help promote Japanese culture, especially its cuisine - washoku - declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Dreams on board a ship
Kano's gastronomic foundation dates back to the arrival of his mother, Setsuko Kaneto, to the country when she was just 13 years old. Coming from the Yamaguchi prefecture, when their father's fishing job ended, the Kanetos found themselves like many immigrants: in the dilemma of whether or not to imagine a future in Latin America. They had to find a new way of life and their mother's experience with an ' udon ya ' in Japan decided everything. With difficulties with the language, they would dedicate themselves to what they did know how to do. Thus, in 1966 they opened “Yuki”, a pioneering Japanese cuisine restaurant in the country.
Over time, Setsuko - already married to photographer Kazumi Kano - took up the mantle of hot cooking. His younger brother, however, - Chonan - took charge of sushi, a delicacy at that time only appreciated by the Japanese community. It was with this pace of life and busy schedules that this cook raised her three children, Daniel, María Inés and María Alejandra. “Gastronomy is a very slave job. Go to the market in the morning and continue until evening. But it's the only thing I know how to do! There was no time for going out,” says Setsuko. And so, she worked so much that she often fell asleep in school meetings, her only rest time.
His brother's decision to close “Yuki” and travel to Japan prompted the creation of “Ichisou” in 1997, a restaurant of their own where the Kanos - now with Daniel as sushiman - continued: another name, another place but the usual cuisine. It was a success. "Just like in 'Yuki', we prepared traditional dishes, sukiyaki , a little of everything, with my mother's recipes and flavors," says Setsuko. "I took care of the hot stuff and I was in charge of the administrative stuff and the cleaning."
At that time, most of its clients were Japanese families, although in the 90s and with the rise of sushi in Argentina, non-Japanese clients began to appear. “Now everyone knows how to handle chopsticks, but before they asked us for a fork!” the cook smiles. Those who have ever visited “Ichisou” immediately recognize Setsuko's broths, its sukiyaki , its ramen ... “Teaching is hard, I don't like explaining things! I learned by watching how my mother made things, her flavors,” he admits. Pass on your recipes? “Only the day I have to die,” he laughs.
A sushiwoman in charge
For years, the Kanos put the future of “Ichisou” in the hands of their eldest male child, Claudio. However, when in 2003 this Chonan also decided to emigrate and make his life abroad, the restaurant almost closed. “It was a shock, but what was I going to do? I cried silently in the kitchen, but I never said anything, although I knew that without sushi the business would not continue - she points out with her head down. But my daughter Alejandra offered to learn, take charge and be a sushiwoman . I am very grateful to him,” confesses Setsuko, a Japanese woman of few words.
Alejandra - a promising filmmaker - decided to postpone her studies and this solution, initially momentary, ended up marking her destiny. The young woman learned the techniques - those that she had observed her uncle and brother use all her life - and turned a blind eye to the disapproving looks of conservative clients, who disbelieved in an Itamae woman. Without giving up, she perfected herself and earned the respect of her prestigious clientele. She became a sushiwoman , an international pioneer.
Women take weapons
With the same fortitude as his mother, Kano managed to organize his family life, with his son Jerónimo, the strict market hours and his endless occupations. She is in every service behind the bar: “if I'm not there, there is no sushi!” she says, resigned. With it, “Ichisou” reemerged like a phoenix and maintained its place as a reference in Japanese gastronomy.
Today, at 73 years old, Setsuko remains firm in the kitchen, a relentless guardian. In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, he received recognition from Club Gastro Japo - a gastronomic association that brings together Japanese restaurants - for his work and career. “Getting him to accept was difficult!” It was under the discreet look of pride of María Alejandra, co-founder of this group that since 2018 has promoted Japanese culture through food and unites gastronomy lovers. Driving force of every Japanese Gastro Food Week.
Goodwill ambassador
The appointment of goodwill ambassador is a distinction created in 2015 with the Japanese government seeking to spread Japanese food and culture. “After three generations in Argentina we continue to strive to offer our cuisine, as traditional as possible and respecting those flavors that my grandmother taught us,” declares Alejandra.
He appreciated the appointment: “Japanese culture is not used to waiting for recognition. “We were always taught to work and improve to improve ourselves.” “Today, with this distinction in 'Ichisou' we feel enormous pride. As women in charge, it fills us with joy to see how our work is recognized,” she wrote on her social networks. “I am between happy and amazed, I don't feel worthy. Being a profession that I inherited (and not a vocation), I always had that doubt. My grandmother achieved a lot, my mother too - this Argentine Nikkei explains to Discover Nikkei - 'am I up to what they expect?', am I doing well?'. This award validates a little of that internal struggle. …It seems so! Which was good.”
This is the first time that Argentina nominates (and wins) a woman. “I am very grateful to the Japanese embassy in Argentina - the eyes and ears of the Ministry in the world - and I understand that this distinction is not for me alone. I feel it as a representative achievement for women who are dedicated to this field. It validates years of invisible work and tells us how we can pave the way for other generations. I think times have changed and continue to do so. And this was a first step.”
© 2022 Paula Ikeda
