Jiro dreams of sushi wiki
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And the soundtrack is dominated by Philip Glass, the canonical Minimalist composer.
(Not to mention that he remains very much alive and active in 2025 at age 99!)
No wonder then that 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi', a thoughtful and absolutely inspiring portrait of the 85-year-old sushi chef Jiro Ono, comes like a breath of fresh air, demonstrating the superior fulfilment one gets by putting perfection ahead of success- since it is with the former that the latter will inevitably follow.
As is with most of our readers, we had not heard of Jiro Ono before this documentary, but here's just a few facts about him to tantalise you.
Throughout the movie, Gelb deliberately teases the question of whether the younger Ono, Yoshikazu, is indeed worthy enough to take over the reins from Jiro. The ingredients and sushi are all lovingly and artfully presented; many who see the movie say that if you haven't eaten immediately before watching, you'd better have reservations right afterward, because you will be hungry.
The cinematography is very simple. It's almost a code of practice between the two parties, and even Jiro's rice supplier refuses to sell the same rice he does to Jiro to the folks at the Grand Hyatt because he thinks he might as well not let them have it if they don't know how to cook it.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
It's no secret to reveal that dedication, hard work and perseverance are the ingredients to Jiro's success today- and Gelb demonstrates this through interviews with a prominent Japanese food critic Yamamoto Masuhiro, current and former apprentices, and of course Jiro himself. However, he is proud to learn from a true sushi master, thus revealing the inner struggle of how a dutiful son shows reverence to his father yet control over his own domain.
With a famous father guiding and critiquing every decision, Yoshikazu is unable to reach his fullest potential. For most of his 85 years, Jiro has been perfecting the art of making sushi. Jiro's restaurant requires that prospective customers book via the concierge at a nearby luxury hotel.
The film outlines Jiro's incredible dedication to his pursuit of the perfect sushi, the career paths of his sons Yoshikazu and Takashi and various apprentices, the fine details of sushi-making, of selecting the right fish, and so on, interspersed with shots of delicious sushi and set to a Philip Glass soundtrack.
This film contains examples of:
- Always Someone Better:
- Yoshikazu knows that when he eventually inherits the restaurant, he will always be seen as inferior to his father unless his sushi is twice as good as what Jiro made.
- Jiro himself mentions how he wishes he had Joël Robuchon's sense of smell and taste, imagining how good his sushi would be if he was as sensitive as Robuchon.
- Takashi mentions that although he serves the same food as his father, he has to lower his prices to keep customers coming in (of course, reducing it from 30,000 yen—that's $300—isn't that much of a hit), and has two Michelin stars.
Eldest son Yoshikazu is the heir apparent to the sushi empire, but Jiro is not ready to retire or to relinquish any of his responsibilities. Yoshikazu will inherit Jiro's restaurant, while Takashi runs a literal mirror-image (because Takashi is right-handed where Jiro is left-handed) branch restaurant in Roppongi Hills. He works from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation.
It's not easy trying to live up to the expectations of a perfectionist father ("Jiro's ghost will always be there watching," he says with resignation at one point) but the answer as to whether Yoshikazu is good enough, is absolutely gratifying when it comes. Each of these are informative and insightful, yielding different perspectives on the master – or as the Japanese would call him, 'shokunin', which means artisan – and among the ones you won't forget are his exacting ten-year training regime for staff and his constant and consistent pursuit for betterment.
Interesting to note too that Jiro isn't the only one so passionate about his work- in fact, as Yoshikazu brings us on a tour of the teeming Tsujiki market where the restaurant, like most if not all other sushi joints in Tokyo, gets its catch, it becomes clear that Jiro has been able to keep up such high standards in his food precisely because his suppliers share the same demanding standards over the catch they sell.
Yet any portrayal of Jiro cannot be complete without his two sons - the elder Yoshikazu mentioned earlier and his younger son Takashi, who runs the restaurant's only other branch in the upscale Roppongi Hills neighbourhood in Tokyo. The water is scalding and burns their hands—but if the apprentice can't hand-squeeze the towels, he won't be able to hack the next ten years of training. - Workaholic: Jiro works from 5AM to 10 PM.
He hates holidays; he'd always rather be working.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a quiet yet enthralling documentary that chronicles the life of Jiro Ono, the most famous sushi chef in Tokyo. Because of their training from a young age, they were top-notch sushi chefs far younger than average.
Instead of a college education, both sons were trained by their father from young as sushi chefs, and as Jiro himself admits, their tutelage could not have been any much easier than the other kitchen workers who spend hours fanning sheets of nori seaweed over a coal fire or practise making sweet omelette 200 times.