MASTER CUTS | エイワマリンプロダクツ

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

Noshi-awabi

Celebration began with the sea.
The story lives on.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

Sennen-dai

An encounter lasts a moment.

A story lasts a thousand years.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

Eel —Gogai

The heat grows deeper.

The calls of the eel vendors grow louder.

In Edo,

people survived summer

by eating the season.

Eel is deep.

It’s a fish.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

The Eel Vendor

The rainy season arrives.

Whitebait fades.

Eel takes its place.

Edomae is not only the fish.

It is the time that travels with it.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

Edomae. —Gogai

An evening in Akasaka.

The Beatles fill the room.

I Want To Hold Your Hand.

I Saw Her Standing There.

Somehow,

it feels like we’ve heard this story before.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

VOICE DRIFTS

Fragments from the archive.

Selected acts performed

in narration and spoken dialogue.

Act I — Edomae, Of Course.

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

First comes sardine.

Not because it is expensive.

Not because it is rare.

But because Edomae has always been a culture of timing.

If not now, then when?

Act II — Lanterns at Tokyo Kaikan

A door opens.

Market people,
photographers,
craftsmen,
and storytellers

gather upon an imagined dance floor.

Welcome.

To Tokyo Kaikan.

A door opens.

Market people,
photographers,
craftsmen,
and storytellers

gather upon an imagined dance floor.

Welcome.

To Tokyo Kaikan.

Act III — Speaking of Rolls

Every food culture has its favorite story.

In Japan, we tell stories about fish.

Soon enough,

we find ourselves talking about rolls.

Every food culture has its favorite story.

In Japan, we tell stories about fish.

Soon enough,

we find ourselves talking about rolls.

Act IV — Across the Pacific

One roll crosses an ocean.

Then another.

Before long, Japanese food is traveling farther than anyone imagined.

The Pacific becomes part of the menu.

One roll crosses an ocean.

Then another.

Before long, Japanese food is traveling farther than anyone imagined.

The Pacific becomes part of the menu.

Act V — Fish First or Rice First?

Tuna or rice.

Fish or vinegar.

Ingredient or technique.

Japanese cuisine has been quietly debating the question for generations.

Tuna or rice.

Fish or vinegar.

Ingredient or technique.

Japanese cuisine has been quietly debating the question for generations.

Act VI — The Beauty of Shiso

Fish alone does not create scenery.

A leaf.

A garnish.

A hint of green.

Sometimes beauty arrives before flavor.

Fish alone does not create scenery.

A leaf.

A garnish.

A hint of green.

Sometimes beauty arrives before flavor.

Act VII — The Supporting Cast

The star may be fish.

But no performance survives without the supporting cast.

Rice.

Seaweed.

Shiso.

Craftsmen.

Markets.

The story depends on all of them.

The star may be fish.

But no performance survives without the supporting cast.

Rice.

Seaweed.

Shiso.

Craftsmen.

Markets.

The story depends on all of them.

Act VIII — The Clock of Sushi

Freshness is not speed.

It is timing.

Sushi begins where the clock starts ticking.

And Edomae has always known how to tell time.

Freshness is not speed.

It is timing.

Sushi begins where the clock starts ticking.

And Edomae has always known how to tell time.

Act IX — Bridging Time and Place

Markets connect more than products.

They connect cities,

generations,

and ways of seeing.

Every journey begins somewhere.

Markets connect more than products.

They connect cities,

generations,

and ways of seeing.

Every journey begins somewhere.

Act X — Edomae Goes On

In the end,

the fish never changed.

What changed was time.

What changed was care.

And so the story continues.