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Photos: Women sushi chefs break the norm in Japan

In Japan, sushi chefs have been known to repeat claims that women’s hands are too warm to keep raw fish fresh, or that menstruation alters their sense of taste. Others say the job is unsuitable for women because of the long and late hours. To shatter such myths, a growing number of women in the country are training and working as sushi chefs in some of most revered restaurants. Although there is no official data on the gender breakdown of sushi chefs in Japan, it is estimated that women make up "less than 10 percent."

Updated on: Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM IST

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Mizuho Iwai, an apprentice at Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant, grinds wasabi at the restaurant in Tokyo. A growing number of women in Japan are determined to shatter the opinions of some who believe women can't be sushi chefs. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Mizuho Iwai, an apprentice at Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant, grinds wasabi at the restaurant in Tokyo. A growing number of women in Japan are determined to shatter the opinions of some who believe women can't be sushi chefs. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Fumimasa Murakami (R), a teacher at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, shows his student Yuki Noguchi (C) how to cut the fish for sushi. Japanese kitchens have long been dominated by men, more so than Italian or French cuisine, according to Murakami. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Fumimasa Murakami (R), a teacher at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, shows his student Yuki Noguchi (C) how to cut the fish for sushi. Japanese kitchens have long been dominated by men, more so than Italian or French cuisine, according to Murakami. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Yuki Noguchi, a student at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, uses a small blowtorch to flame-grill a fish to make sushi. The work can be gruelling and requires years to master. Apprentices must learn everything from the names of different types of fish to removing scales and slicing properly. “In Japan, it is still strongly believed that it is women who take care of family. But sushi chefs work in the evening so it’s difficult for women,” said Noguchi. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Yuki Noguchi, a student at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, uses a small blowtorch to flame-grill a fish to make sushi. The work can be gruelling and requires years to master. Apprentices must learn everything from the names of different types of fish to removing scales and slicing properly. “In Japan, it is still strongly believed that it is women who take care of family. But sushi chefs work in the evening so it’s difficult for women,” said Noguchi. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Yuki Noguchi, a student at Tokyo Sushi Academy, cuts a fish fillet to make sushi. Sushi chefs have been known to repeat claims that women’s hands are too warm to keep raw fish fresh, or that their periods alter their sense of taste. Others say the job is unsuitable for women because of the long and late hours. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Yuki Noguchi, a student at Tokyo Sushi Academy, cuts a fish fillet to make sushi. Sushi chefs have been known to repeat claims that women’s hands are too warm to keep raw fish fresh, or that their periods alter their sense of taste. Others say the job is unsuitable for women because of the long and late hours. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Yuki Noguchi, a student at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, poses in front of a white board bearing technics of making sushi. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Yuki Noguchi, a student at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, poses in front of a white board bearing technics of making sushi. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Fumimasa Murakami (C), a teacher at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, watches his students decorating a sushi set .“I think there are a few (women) chefs but it’s rare. But I wanted to challenge things because of that,” Mizuho Iwai, a trainee told AFP. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Fumimasa Murakami (C), a teacher at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, watches his students decorating a sushi set .“I think there are a few (women) chefs but it’s rare. But I wanted to challenge things because of that,” Mizuho Iwai, a trainee told AFP. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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A sushi set at the Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant in Tokyo. Fuka Sano, the other female apprentice at Onodera, said she didn’t think too much about the lack of women in the field when she decided to become a sushi chef. “I guess women think a sushi chef is a man’s job because there are so few women,” she said. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

A sushi set at the Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant in Tokyo. Fuka Sano, the other female apprentice at Onodera, said she didn’t think too much about the lack of women in the field when she decided to become a sushi chef. “I guess women think a sushi chef is a man’s job because there are so few women,” she said. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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Akifumi Sakagami (R), a head chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant, adjusts the hat of apprentice Mizuho Iwai (L) at the restaurant in Tokyo. Sakagami started as an apprentice more than 30 years ago in the northern city of Sapporo, when female chefs and trainees were essentially non existent.“The work environment is changing along with other changes in society. I think it’s getting better for both men and women,” he said. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Updated on Apr 09, 2020 9:11 PM

Akifumi Sakagami (R), a head chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant, adjusts the hat of apprentice Mizuho Iwai (L) at the restaurant in Tokyo. Sakagami started as an apprentice more than 30 years ago in the northern city of Sapporo, when female chefs and trainees were essentially non existent.“The work environment is changing along with other changes in society. I think it’s getting better for both men and women,” he said. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

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