Kenji Sakurai
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Taisho”
2 November 1944 — 17 February 2023 · aged 78
Sushi master of eight seats, fifty years and one famous tamago, from Tsukiji to Ginza
Tokyo, Japan Born in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture Resting at Family grave, Choshi, ChibaAbout Kenji
At four o'clock each morning, Kenji Sakurai was already walking the aisles of Tsukiji fish market, tapping the flank of a tuna with the back of his knuckle and listening for something only he could hear. Born in the fishing port of Choshi, in Chiba, in 1944, the son of a sardine fisherman, he took a train to Tokyo at fifteen with a cardboard suitcase and was taken on as the lowest apprentice at a sushi counter near the market, where for three years he was allowed to do nothing but wash rice and wipe the counter.
He opened his own eight-seat counter, Sushi Sakurai, in a narrow Ginza alley in 1974 and kept it for forty-eight years. There was no menu and no sign, only a small noren curtain and the word omakase, 'I leave it to you,' spoken by guests who soon trusted him with everything. His tamago, a sweet layered omelette, took three hours a day, and regulars, among them a retired judge, a kabuki costume-maker and a nervous young banker who came every first Friday, swore they could taste his patience. He trained eleven apprentices, two of whom now run counters of their own, and was never heard to raise his voice, though he could silence a room by lowering a knife.
He moved his fish orders from Tsukiji to Toyosu when the market relocated in 2018 and grumbled about the car park. He grew morning glories on his balcony, followed the Yomiuri Giants with gentle despair, and closed every Monday to go fishing with his oldest friend, Tanabe. He retired in 2022 when his hands began to tremble, and passed away on 17 February 2023, aged seventy-eight. He leaves his wife, Hisako; his son Takeshi, an engineer at Toyota in Nagoya; his daughter Yumi, a University of Tokyo graduate; and three grandchildren who are learning to make the tamago.
“The rice is the sushi. The fish is only the guest.”
- Faith
- Buddhist
- Place of birth
- Choshi, Chiba Prefecture
- Resting place
- Family grave, Choshi, Chiba
- Passed away
- 17 February 2023, Tokyo
Buddhist Funeral (Tsuya & Kokubetsushiki)
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 at 09:00 UTC
Add to calendarLife journey
Apprentice sushi chef
Sushi counter, Tsukiji Outer Market1960 – 1973 · Tokyo
Three years washing rice before he was allowed to touch a knife.
Married Hisako
1970 · Tokyo
A marriage of fifty-two years.
Owner & Head Chef, Sushi Sakurai
Sushi Sakurai1974 – 2022 · Ginza, Tokyo
Eight seats, no menu, forty-eight years and eleven apprentices.
Volunteer sushi teacher for schoolchildren
Chuo City elementary schools1995 – 2019 · Tokyo
Taught thousands of children how to roll and respect rice.
Citizens' Commendation for Culinary Craft
Chuo City Office2008 · Tokyo
For a lifetime of excellence at the counter and in the community.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Kenji is survived by
- Hisako Sakurai· Spouse
- Takeshi Sakurai· Son
- Yumi Sakurai-Ito· Daughter
- 3 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Kenji.
Knew Kenji? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- TI
Tuna broker at Toyosu Market
He never haggled. He tapped, he sniffed, he named a price. I always gave him my best fish because he would know if I did not. Three generations of my family sold to him. The stall where he used to stand at dawn is very quiet now.
- DW
Visiting guest from San Francisco
We had no common language, and I was a nervous tourist in 2009. He drew a tuna on a napkin, tapped his chest and poured me tea. It was the best meal of my life. I returned in 2012 and he remembered my name. I wept into the miso soup.
- SY
Banker and first-Friday regular
I was a frightened junior banker the first time I sat at his counter. He gave me a piece of tamago and said, 'Work is also rice. Wash it carefully.' I came every first Friday for twenty years. I cried at my promotion and he pretended not to see.
- HM
Former apprentice, now owner of Sushi Mori in Kyoto
For three years he let me wash rice and nothing else. On the day he finally handed me a knife, he said only, 'Now you are ready to be slow.' Everything I know about patience came from that counter. My own apprentices wash rice for three years too.
- MT
Fishing friend for fifty years
Every Monday for fifty years we sat on the same pier at Choshi. He never caught more than me and never admitted it. Last autumn his hands shook too much to bait the hook, so I baited it for him, and he said nothing. That silence was our friendship.
- KT
Regular guest for thirty years
Each visit he served me the first piece without a word and watched my face. If I smiled he nodded; if I hesitated he adjusted the next one. In thirty years I never once ordered. He said a good guest and a good chef are simply two people who listen. I miss being listened to.
