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Drink · Japan
Nihonshu
Japanese sake, a fermented beverage made from rice, koji and water. It is an official geographical indication of Japan and is served chilled, at room temperature, or warm, in small cups.
Flavors · Shiga
Funazushi
Nigorobuna carp from Lake Biwa, salted and fermented for months with rice: an ancient form of sushi with a strong taste and aroma. A dish from Shiga, deeply rooted in the prefecture’s culture.
Traditional dish from Shiga
Also known as: Funa-zushi, ふなずし, 鮒寿司
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Funazushi — Shiga, Japan
Funazushi is a narezushi, the oldest form of sushi: fish salted and fermented with rice. It mainly uses nigorobuna, a carp from Lake Biwa, preferably a female with roe. The fish is salted in spring; in summer it is washed, dried and layered with cooked rice in a barrel with a lid and weight. It ferments for months, until New Year or longer.
During fermentation, lactic acid softens the bones, and the fish can be eaten whole, sliced thinly. The taste is sour and salty, and the aroma is strong. The fermentation rice, which becomes a paste, is also used.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, narezushi was a way to preserve fish year-round. In Shiga it is made with various lake fish, and funazushi is the most representative. It is offered at shrine festivals praying for good harvests, and Shiga’s narezushi were designated an intangible cultural property of the prefecture in 1998.
Funazushi appears at festivals, New Year and gatherings. With the decline of nigorobuna in the lake, fewer families make it at home, and many buy the fish already salted and only complete the fermentation. It is served in prefectural restaurants and sold in local specialty shops.
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Where it comes from
Shiga
Shiga’s most representative narezushi, made with carp from Lake Biwa.
Ingredients
Nigorobuna carp from Lake Biwa, salt, cooked rice.
How it is eaten
Sliced thin as a snack, often with sake; also served over rice with hot water.
When it is eaten
Festivals, New Year and gatherings; fermentation runs from spring into winter.
Your questions
Questions about Funazushi
What does funazushi taste like?
It is sour and salty, with a strong fermented aroma. The bones become soft, and the fish is eaten in thin slices.
Why is funazushi considered the origin of sushi?
It is a narezushi—fish preserved in fermented rice—the oldest form of sushi. Sushi with rice seasoned with vinegar appeared much later, in the Edo period.
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Okinawa soba
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Takoyaki
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Beyond the guide
