• By
Ko Sasaki/The Wall Street Journal

There is no legitimate reason why women can’t be sushi chefs, but plenty of excuses and old wives’ tales abound in the male-dominated world of raw fish. Here, we recount the top reasons given to us by men as to why women and raw fish don’t gel:

5. Because women menstruate: In an interview with the WSJ, Yoshikazu Ono, the son of Jiro Ono who runs the three-starred Michelin restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, says:


4. Because women wear makeup and perfume: These interfere with olfactory senses when preparing sushi.

3. Because women can’t handle the work: Sushi involves hard labor, including gutting and slicing fish, working long hours and taking the last train home.

2. Because women have smaller hands: That messes up the size of the nigiri (mound of rice upon which the fish is placed).

1. And the number one reason: Because women’s hands are too warm, which makes the rice too warm.

Needless to say, all of these reasons are bogus, folks.

View a slideshow of Nadeshico Sushi in Tokyo. It is Japan’s first sushi restaurant featuring a cast of female chefs.

Follow Mariko Sanchanta on Twitter @sanchanta

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