Sushi is a typical Japanese food with over a thousand years of history and tradition. It has become perhaps the most visible example of Japanese cuisine in other countries.
Sushi actually began as a way of preserving fish. The raw, cleaned fish was pressed between rice and salt by a heavy stone for a few weeks. After a few weeks, the stone was removed and replaced with a light cover. A few months after that, the fermented fish and rice were considered ready to eat. Not until the 18th century did a chef named Yohei decide to serve sushi in its present form and forget about the fermentation process altogether. The use of vinegar rice, however, probably harks back to the feremented taste of early sushi.
In Osaka there is still an elaborate tradition of sushi pressed with rice in wooden boxes. This type of sushi is called hako-zushi.
The sushi most commonly known among Westerners comes from Edo, the old name for Tokyo, and consists of hand-rolled sushi specifically called nigiri sushi.
Japanese have a deep-rooted fondness of nature and this is often carried over to the arrangement of food. The pieces are arranged to enhance their natural beauty. Often nature and the outdoors are captured by using a plate resembling a fish in motion, a quiet river nook, or a deep pool. The fish itself evokes an image of the creature swimming through underwater weeds and roots.
This theme carries over to plates, cups, and chopstick rests as shown above.