Savoring sushi with Sazanami
Katherine Hanson
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: Features
Upon entering Unity House, one could smell the savory scent of takoyaki being fried over the kitchenette stove, as members of the club were split between the tasks of slicing new sushi ingredients and helping customers make custom sushi at tables arranged in the main room.
Last Friday evening at Unity House, Smith's Sazanami Club - a club for Japan enthusiasts - hosted its annual Sushi Workshop, in which members of the Smith community created and dined on their own freshly prepared sushi, steaming hot takoyaki - octopus balls - and miso soup.
A tradition that has been hosted by Sazanami for at least as long as the club's president, Nao Mizuno '09, can remember, the event has always required a fastidious amount of care for detail - from the freshly sliced sushi roll fillings of crab, avocado, cucumber and egg, to the new batches of rice cooked throughout the evening, to the culture-appropriate décor, replete with red lanterns and faux cherry blossom branches.
The sushi rolls, made by spreading a layer of fluffy white rice and assorted toppings onto a sheet of nori seaweed, rolling them up and cutting them into bite-sized pieces, received a consistently enthusiastic response from diners. The juicy balls of takoyaki seemed in even higher demand, as the club members rapidly turned out new batches only to see them sell out immediately.
This was the first year that the club made takoyaki. From the western region of Kansai - home to Kyoto and Osaka - takoyaka is often eaten at special events and festivals throughout Japan.
In addition to offering food, Sazanami organized a tag sale containing a wide variety of Japanese goods, including miniature woodblock prints, cherry blossom stationary, decorated chopsticks, ceramic teacups and Japanese fashion magazines.
"It's great because people really like sushi and it's a good way to promote the club, and the members have fun, too," said Mizuno.
"I think it makes us closer," agreed fellow Saza-member Makana Hirose '11.
Even with the sushi workshop barely over, Sazanami members are already planning more upcoming events in addition to their regular meetings. The club will host JAXPO on April 9, a four-day event dedicated to promoting Japanese culture. Each year the club chooses a theme on which to center the event on, recruits a professor to give a lecture, screens four or five different movies and holds workshops. This year, the films will likely include a documentary on kamikaze pilots, a Studio Ghibli animated film, an Akira Kurosawa film and Go/Pucchigi, a movie about a Korean resident living in Japan.
The Sazanami Club hopes to host a Japanese film festival shortly afterwards. They will also host a fashion show documenting the history of Japanese fashion at Rhythm Nations later this semester.
Last Friday evening at Unity House, Smith's Sazanami Club - a club for Japan enthusiasts - hosted its annual Sushi Workshop, in which members of the Smith community created and dined on their own freshly prepared sushi, steaming hot takoyaki - octopus balls - and miso soup.
A tradition that has been hosted by Sazanami for at least as long as the club's president, Nao Mizuno '09, can remember, the event has always required a fastidious amount of care for detail - from the freshly sliced sushi roll fillings of crab, avocado, cucumber and egg, to the new batches of rice cooked throughout the evening, to the culture-appropriate décor, replete with red lanterns and faux cherry blossom branches.
The sushi rolls, made by spreading a layer of fluffy white rice and assorted toppings onto a sheet of nori seaweed, rolling them up and cutting them into bite-sized pieces, received a consistently enthusiastic response from diners. The juicy balls of takoyaki seemed in even higher demand, as the club members rapidly turned out new batches only to see them sell out immediately.
This was the first year that the club made takoyaki. From the western region of Kansai - home to Kyoto and Osaka - takoyaka is often eaten at special events and festivals throughout Japan.
In addition to offering food, Sazanami organized a tag sale containing a wide variety of Japanese goods, including miniature woodblock prints, cherry blossom stationary, decorated chopsticks, ceramic teacups and Japanese fashion magazines.
"It's great because people really like sushi and it's a good way to promote the club, and the members have fun, too," said Mizuno.
"I think it makes us closer," agreed fellow Saza-member Makana Hirose '11.
Even with the sushi workshop barely over, Sazanami members are already planning more upcoming events in addition to their regular meetings. The club will host JAXPO on April 9, a four-day event dedicated to promoting Japanese culture. Each year the club chooses a theme on which to center the event on, recruits a professor to give a lecture, screens four or five different movies and holds workshops. This year, the films will likely include a documentary on kamikaze pilots, a Studio Ghibli animated film, an Akira Kurosawa film and Go/Pucchigi, a movie about a Korean resident living in Japan.
The Sazanami Club hopes to host a Japanese film festival shortly afterwards. They will also host a fashion show documenting the history of Japanese fashion at Rhythm Nations later this semester.
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