Fast-forward to Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868). The country’s urbanizing, Tokyo (then Edo) is buzzing, and folks need quick eats. Enter Hanaya Yohei, the street-food genius who flipped sushi on its head. Before him, sushi was still a slow game—fermentation took time. But Yohei saw the fresh fish pouring into Tokyo Bay and thought, “Why wait?” He swapped fermentation for vinegar-seasoned rice, slapped raw fish on top, and bam—nigiri was born. Hand-pressed rice with a fish crown, served up fast at stalls for workers on the go. This was sushi’s glow-up from preservation hack to culinary art.
Called Edomae zushi (Edo-style sushi), it leaned on the bay’s bounty—tuna, shrimp, eel. No more months of waiting; this was ready in minutes, eaten by hand as a bite-sized snack. Think of it like Japan’s answer to the hot dog—cheap, portable, and delicious. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 shook things up again. Tokyo’s real estate tanked, sushi chefs snatched up cheap storefronts, and those stalls turned into sit-down joints. Sushi went from street grub to restaurant fare, setting the stage for its upscale future.