Life style

All about Sushi

Published

3 years ago

2022/12/11

For the past 18 generations, one family has preserved a 400-year-old recipe showing how sushi once tasted, and it doesn’t use raw seafood, but fish aged for three years.On any fine day in spring, when the sky is clear and the waters of nearby Lake Biwa are calm enough for locals to go carp fishing, you can find Mariko Kitamura and her husband Atsushi at their shop Kitashina in the small Japanese town of Takashima making sushi.

With the dexterity and speed you’d expect from sushi chefs, they scrape off the fish’s scales with a knife, remove its gills and carefully angle a skewer down its throat to remove its innards without penetrating its flesh. But what happens next is truly unexpected. They pack the fish with salt, layer them in a wooden tub, weigh the lid down with 30kg stones and leave them to cure for two years. Each fish is then thoroughly rinsed, dried in the sun for a day and fermented for one more year in cooked rice before it is ready to be eaten.

This is not the kind of sushi you might get in New York or London, or even easily in Tokyo for that matter. It is the predecessor of what the world now knows as sushi – the original sushi – called narezushi (fermented sushi). Kitamura’s family has been making it for 18 generations, ever since Kitashina opened in 1619 in this remote corner of Shiga prefecture, and today the centuries-old shop is one of a handful of places left in Japan, and the world, where you can experience how “real” sushi is supposed to taste.

Narezushi

is thousands of years old and traces its roots back to the rice fields of China, where the method of curing in salt and fermenting the freshwater fish that lived in the paddies was developed to give the seasonal catch a long shelf life. It is believed to have arrived in Japan at the country’s ancient capital of Nara sometime in the 8th Century. For the next 1,000 years, until it evolved in the 18th Century into the slices-of-raw-seafood-draped-over-mounds-of-rice dish we know today, narezushi was a commonly consumed, nourishing and tasty source of protein. People would eat a few pieces of it with the fermented rice. They’d put a slice of it in hot water to make a medicinal tea. And they enjoyed it as a delicacy with sake at the tables of aristocratic and samurai families.

As a testimony to narezushi’s importance and the skill required to make it, Kitamura’s ancestor 18 generations back, Kuemon Yamagataya (Kitashina’s founder), was appointed to the entourage of Lord Mitsunobu Wakebe when he moved to Takashima in 1619 to take charge of the castle at the request of Japan’s new military leader, Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Unlike modern sushi, which typically includes ocean seafood, Narezushi was made – and still is in small pockets of Japan – with pretty much anything that swims in fresh water, including tiny loach, ayu (small sweet fish) and eel. But the kind of narezushi Kitashina makes is much rarer and is considered the true prototype of sushi. It is called funazushi after the type of fish used: funa (carp).

Carp is the king of freshwater fish in Japan, with the most prized being Japanese crucian carp (nigorobuna), which is the original type of carp used to make funazushi and the kind Kitashina features. It is a wild, rich-tasting species that’s found only in Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake and one of the oldest lakes in the world.

Today, there are just five shops around the lake that specialise in making high-quality funazushi, as nigorobuna has become very rare and hard to obtain. Other places, including souvenir shops across the prefecture, use more common types of carp and offer a comparatively ready-made version – funazushi cured in salt for one summer and fermented in rice for a few months in autumn – for tourists seeking to try its reputedly pungent taste. Among them all, Kitashina is the one making the most authentic funazushi by using nigorobuna and applying the oldest, most traditional preparation methods.

The good stuff is hard to get, though. Peak demand for Kitashina’s funazushi is from November to February when customers order it as a New Year’s treat, and later, to celebrate the arrival of spring. It can be sold out then, but a fresh batch, so to speak, is ready every year in mid-summer.

Before trying funazushi, Kitamura told me that it tastes like cheese – which it does, in its lacto- fermented, sour, salty and umami-rich way. It’s reminiscent of a funky and creamy type of cheese, given that Kitashina makes funazushi with the roe-laden female nigorobuna in season from March to May. Like many mature cheeses, funazushi is an acquired taste; a food that takes some getting used to. But then so is eating raw seafood for many people.

Kitamura, who attended the Kyoto Culinary Institute, took over the family business in 2013 when her father was ready to retire – partly because of her interest in food, but more importantly, to save the business from, literally, dying out. The beneficial micro-organisms that have thrived in her family’s traditional kioke wooden tubs for centuries, and which naturally produce the fermentation that gives Kitashina’s funazushi its authentic flavour, would die if the tubs were ever emptied.

Today, funazushi has become a luxury food across much of Japan, with Kitashina being the shop at which to buy it because of its refined, mellow flavour. According to Kitamura, that’s in part thanks to her grandfather, who, despite sushi’s growing popularity, continued to stick to Kitashina’s 400-year-old recipe of long fermentation and changing the rice once during the process. He also introduced the practice of serving it on a bed of sake lees – the sweet, rich paste left after pressing sake from the fermented rice mash – making the dish even more luxurious. Kitamura’s father, in turn, created the “Tomoe” style of beautifully presenting funazushi as a fan fashioned from the slices of a whole fish.

Kitashina’s funazushi is now featured on the menus of some of the most exclusive ryotei (traditional high-end Japanese eateries) and other top restaurants in Kyoto, as well as at similar establishments in Tokyo. Taking a cue from Kitamura’s grandfather’s presentation, chef Takumi Murata, of the L’Hotel de Hiei located atop the historical Mount Hiei overlooking Kyoto, serves Kitashina’s funazushi with wine jelly as an appetiser in the hotel’s main restaurant.

Compared to narezushi’s millennia-old history, the sushi we eat today is a mere footnote. Technically called hayazushi (fast sushi), it was created in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th Century as a fast-food version of narezushi to meet the needs of the city’s busy people. The newly bottled seasonings of fermented rice vinegar and soy sauce were used to recreate the essential sour, salty and rich taste of funazushi in the fresh seafood that was caught in Tokyo Bay. First, rice vinegar was added to cooked rice to speed up the fermentation process to just a few days. This practice also made the rice more edible. Later, freshly cooked rice was simply soaked with rice vinegar.

The gamechanger, however, was soy sauce, which began to be mass produced in the 1700s. As Issei Tomioka, a former employee at the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Tsukiji, wrote in his series The History of Nihonbashi Uogashi, “sushi would likely not have been developed had it not been for soy sauce.” Brewed for at least two years, traditional soy sauce is a concentrated form of salty-savoury umami. Initially, it was used to marinate the seafood toppings for a few hours to prevent them from spoiling and also to make them more appetising. As the fresh quality of the seafood improved, sushi was served raw with soy sauce as a condiment.

Sushi is a remarkable example of the way Japan adopts foods from other countries, in this case China, and then adapts and assimilates them into its own rich culinary culture. After thousands of years, sushi continues to evolve.

Currently, the pendulum is swinging backwards, and sushi chefs in Japan are now aging their seafood toppings for days, weeks and even months to give all kinds of fish the creamy texture and savoury richness of funazushi. Koji Kimura, chef-owner of the two-Michelin-starred Sushi Kimura in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward, has been serving only aged sushi since 2008 and is

considered its modern-day pioneer.

Closer to Takashima, Yoichi Akashi, the chef at Sushi Zabo in Miyazu City, is following the tradition of Kitashina’s funazushi by taking an already rich-tasting, fatty fish like akamutsu (rosy seabass) caught fresh from the nearby Sea of Japan or East Sea (as it is referred to in Japan and Korea, respectively).

But even as chefs rediscover the potential of weeks- and months-aged sushi, Kitamura is staying well ahead of them. In a corner of Kitashina’s storeroom, she has a small wooden tub of funazushi that has been fermenting for eight years and counting.– BBC

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Life style

From Vanishing Sea Snakes to DNA in a Bottle

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/18

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Ru on Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda's book terming a must read. Also in the picture Wildlife Nature Protection Society President Graham Marshall

Dr. Ruchira Somaweera on Rethinking Conservation

What happens when one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity hotspots collapses almost overnight — and no one knows why?

That was the question facing Australian authorities in the early 2000s when Ashmore Reef, a remote marine reserve in the Timor Sea, suddenly lost what once made it globally unique: its extraordinary diversity and abundance of sea snakes.

“At one point, this place had more species of sea snakes and more individuals than anywhere else on Earth,” recalled Dr. Ruchira Somaweera, one of the world’s leading reptile biologists. “Then, within a few years, everything collapsed.”

Speaking at a packed Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) Monthly Lecture, sponsored by Nations Trust Bank and held at the BMICH, Dr. Somaweera described how the mysterious disappearance triggered a major federal investigation.

“At the time, I was a federal government scientist,” he said. “We were sent to find out what went wrong — but it wasn’t obvious at all.”

Ashmore Reef, a protected area managed by Parks Australia, was still teeming with turtles, sharks and pelagic birds. Yet the sea snakes — once recorded at rates of up to 60 individuals per hour — had virtually vanished.

Ruchira making his presentation

The breakthrough came not from the water, but from policy.

For decades, traditional Indonesian fishers from Roti Island had been permitted to harvest sharks at Ashmore under a bilateral agreement. When Australia banned shark fishing around 2000, shark numbers rebounded rapidly.

“And sharks are the main predators of sea snakes,” Dr. Somaweera explained. “What we realised is that what we thought was ‘normal’ may actually have been an imbalance.”

In other words, sea snakes had flourished during an unusual window when their top predators were suppressed. Once sharks returned, the ecosystem corrected itself — with dramatic consequences.

“It was a powerful lesson,” he said. “Sometimes collapse isn’t caused by pollution or climate change, but by ecosystems returning to balance.”

The mystery didn’t end there. Some sea snake species once known only from Ashmore were now feared extinct. But instead of accepting that conclusion, Dr. Somaweera and colleagues took a different approach — one that combined science with local knowledge.

“Scientists often fail by not talking to the people who live with these animals,” he said. “Fishermen have decades of experience. That knowledge matters.”

Using museum records, fisher interviews and species distribution modelling, the team predicted where these snakes might still exist. The models suggested vast new areas — some the size of Sri Lanka — had never been properly surveyed.

When researchers finally reached these sites, often involving helicopters, research vessels and enormous logistical costs, they made a startling discovery.

“We found populations of species we thought were gone,” he said. “They were there all along. We were just looking in the wrong place.”

Even more surprising was where they were found — far deeper than expected.

Traditional sea snake surveys rely on night-time spotlighting, assuming snakes surface to breathe and rest. But footage from deep-sea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) revealed that many species live in the mesophotic zone, where light fades and surveys rarely reach.

“Some of these snakes are deep divers,” Dr. Somaweera said. “They don’t behave the way we assumed.”

That insight led to one of his most remarkable discoveries — coordinated, communal hunting in the Irabu sea krait off Indonesia.

“At 40 metres deep, on the slope of an extinct volcano, we found them hunting in groups,” he said. “They take turns flushing fish and feeding. That level of cooperation was never known in snakes.”

Beyond discovery, Dr. Somaweera’s work increasingly focuses on how conservation itself must evolve.

One of the most transformative tools, he said, is environmental DNA (eDNA) — the ability to detect species from genetic traces left in water, soil or even air.

“You no longer need to see the animal,” he explained. “A bottle of water can tell you what lives there.”

His team now uses eDNA to detect critically endangered snakes, turtles and sea snakes in some of Australia’s most remote regions. In one project, even children were able to collect samples.

“A 10-year-old can do it,” he said. “That’s how accessible this technology has become.”

The implications for countries like Sri Lanka are profound. From snakebite management to marine conservation, eDNA offers a low-impact, cost-effective way to monitor biodiversity — especially in hard-to-reach areas.

Dr. Somaweera ended his lecture with a message aimed squarely at young scientists.

“We already have a lot of data. What we lack is the next question,” he said. “So what? That’s the question that turns knowledge into action.”

After nearly two decades of research across continents, his message was clear: conservation cannot rely on assumptions, tradition or good intentions alone.

“It has to be evidence-based,” he said. “Because only action — informed by science — actually saves species.”

By Ifham Nizam ✍️

Life style

Driving the vision of Colombo Fashion Week

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/18

Thilina Walpola

Fazeena embodying confidence, culture and couture

Fazeena Rajabdeen

Fazeena Rajabdeen stands at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s fashion evolution as the Executive Director of Colombo Fashion Week.

With a visionary approach that bridges local talent with global opportunities, Fazeena has been instrumental in elevating Colombo Fashion Week into a sought-after platform for designers, buyers and industry innovators. In this interview, she shares insights on the growth of Sri Lanka’s fashion landscape, the challenges and triumphs of steering a major fashion event, and her aspirations for the future of the industry.

(Q) As Executive Director of Colombo Fashion Week, how do you define CFW’s role in shaping Sri Lanka’s fashion identity?

(A) CFW is fundamentally the backbone of Sri Lanka’s fashion industry. Over 23 years, we’ve built more than a platform, we’ve crafted an entire fashion ecosystem that didn’t exist before.

What I’m most proud of is that over 80% of the designers you see in Sri Lanka today have come through our development system. That’s not accidental, it’s the result of building infrastructure, including partnerships, brand development support, retail insights, and international networks. We’ve essentially created the conditions for a Sri Lankan fashion industry to emerge organically, rooted in our heritage but completely contemporary in its expression. This has resulted in the creation of few design education schools, fashion retailers, model academies.

CFW has given Sri Lankan fashion an identity that carries weight, one that speaks to craftsmanship, sustainability, and creative integrity. That’s the legacy we continue to build upon.

(Q) What has been your personal vision in steering Colombo Fashion Week over the years?

(A) My vision has always been about scale and sustainability, taking what was a seasonal event and building it into a year-round business ecosystem. My key focus was on developing the next generation through structured programs like emerging designers and CFW Accelerate, embedding responsibility into fashion through tools like the Responsible Meter, and expanding our reach with new editions and International partnerships.

We’ve moved from showcasing fashion to building the infrastructure that makes sustainable, commercially viable fashion careers possible in Sri Lanka. Another mission was to expand the platform so Sri Lankan designers aren’t just showing collections, they’re building brands that compete regionally, especially within South Asia.

(Q) Fashion Weeks globally are evolving. How has CFW adapted while staying true to its roots?

(A) The role of fashion platforms has evolved, as the development of fashion, the consumption of fashion and choices fashion consumers make has changed. At the core Fashion is an emotional choice hence engagement with fashion consumers remains high priority. CFW as a platform that leads the fashion industry, creates formats that effectively engage consumers with the fashion creators and with that open opportunities in Sri Lanka and internationally through BRICS, South Asia and Beyond. There are interesting new projects planned to push this forward.

(Q) How does CFW contribute to positioning Colombo as a regional fashion and lifestyle capital?

(A) CFW is known as a renowned South Asian Fashion Week and serves as a regional hub with its longstanding influence of 23 years in the region. That longevity alone has made us a reference point for South Asian fashion and we’ve become first-in-mind when people think of fashion here.

But it’s more than just presence. CFW has positioned the city with its synonymous brand name and interaction with influential people within the region as a lifestyle destination, not a peripheral market. That sustained visibility and the calibre of what we produce has put Colombo on the map as a regional capital where fashion, craft, and commerce intersect.

(Q) Sustainability and craftsmanship are growing conversations—How are those reflected in designer collections?

(A) Responsibility in fashion has been our cornerstone from the beginning. We’ve always championed Batik and traditional craft, and we’ve backed that with real resources through our craft funds.

What we’ve done differently is make sustainability measurable. The Responsible Meter we developed is a transparent scoring system that shows the environmental and social impact of each garment. Designers now build collections with accountability baked in from the start, not as an afterthought. This process is included in all emerging designer development processes.

(Q) Colombo Fashion Week has been a launch pad for many designers. What do you look for when curating talent?

(A) Above all—passion and drive. You can teach technique, refine a collection, connect someone to the right resources. But that hunger to build something, to push through the hard parts of turning creativity into a viable business That has to come from them.

We look for designers who understand that fashion is both art and commerce. They need a point of view, yes, but also the discipline to execute it consistently. The ones who succeed through CFW are the ones who see the platform as a starting point, not the finish line—they’re ready to put in the work to build a real brand, not just show a collection and continue with us in building that brand.

(Q) What role does CFW play in connecting Sri Lankan designers to global markets?

(A) CFW set out on a designer exchange programme through the BRICS International Fashion Federation, showcasing Sri Lankan talent at BRICS fashion weeks while welcoming international designers to Colombo. The platform positions Sri Lanka within the global fashion landscape while attracting international buyers and media. We have partnerships with the commonwealth countries and relevant fashion weeks. The interaction with global designers we invite during fashion week is primarily to focus on such interactions with Sri Lankan designers, opening doors for learnings and opportunities.

(Q) What can we expect from upcoming editions of CFW?

(A) Every edition has a unique focus to it and we work towards creating more expansion, more accessibility. We’re doubling down on our development programs, bringing in stronger international partnerships, deeper craft integration, and wider opportunities for designers at every stage.

We’re also looking at new formats and editions that create the Sri Lankan story in international markets.

We focus on being beyond a showcase; as the engine that drives Sri Lankan fashion forward regionally and globally. We’re building for scale and impact. The upcoming editions will reflect that ambition.

(Q) You have Co-founded the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival, what inspired you to start and what was your original vision?

(A) It was a natural expansion, honestly. After years of building CFW and seeing the power of creative platforms, we realized there is space for the same thing for arts and literature, a space that celebrates Sri Lanka’s intellectual and cultural soft power.

The vision was simple: create a festival that puts Sri Lankan voices in conversation with regional and global thought leaders. Literature and the arts are incredible tools for cultural influence, and we weren’t leveraging that enough. Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival became that platform, a way to showcase our writers, artists, and thinkers while positioning Sri Lanka as a hub for meaningful cultural exchange.

It’s about soft power. Fashion opened doors, arts and literature deepened the conversation. Together, they tell a fuller story of who we are as a country.

(Q) What makes it unique in Sri Lanka’s cultural scene?

(A) It’s the ecosystem with its breadth and accessibility. We’ve built a festival that doesn’t silo creativity, it brings together literature, art, film, performing arts and music under one platform. That cross-pollination doesn’t really exist elsewhere in Sri Lanka at this scale.

What sets us apart is that we’ve made it deliberately accessible, students are free as our focus is the Youth. Projects and processes that empower the youth and foster creative talent from the grassroot.

(Q) What role does the festival play in promoting local writers, poets and literary talent?

(A) We platform both established names and emerging voices who haven’t had the visibility. The festival creates real dialogue and gives local talent stages they wouldn’t normally access.

We take the best of the world.

We’ve made it accessible, students get free entry, and we run a Children’s Festival for ages 5 to 11. It’s about building pathways early and giving Sri Lankan writers, poets, and creatives the exposure that launches careers.

Our winner of the first edition of the Future writers’ program, was recently awarded the acclaimed Gratiaen Award. We were happy we were able to mentor and pave the pathway for Savin and all future writers for the next generation.

(Q) What are the next dates to look out for?

(A) We have the HSBC Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival Edition 03 set to take place February 13th ,14th,15th 2026. This year’s Festival brings together creativity across all genres including the children’s festival, performing arts and Arts festival. We are proud to celebrate Sri Lankan and international Authors including the renowned author of the Bridgerton series Julia Quinn.

Following which the annual Summer edition of Colombo Fashion Week will take place in March 2026

This is for the start of 2026. looking forward to many exciting plans for the rest of the year.

Life style

The HALO Trust appoints Rishini Weeraratne as its Ambassador for Sri Lanka

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/18

Thilina Walpola

Focussed and Fearless

The HALO Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance organization, has appointed Rishini Weeraratne as its Ambassador for Sri Lanka. In her new role, she will support HALO’s global mission by raising awareness of mine action, strengthening advocacy efforts, and championing initiatives to protect communities impacted by landmines and unexploded ordnance, particularly in Sri Lanka. She will also play a key role in HALO’s international engagement and communications initiatives.

HALO began working in Afghanistan in 1988. Today HALO operates in more than 30 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe and Caucasus, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its teams work daily to clear landmines, deliver risk education and restore land for agriculture, homes and infrastructure. HALO gained international recognition after Diana, Princess of Wales, visited its work in Angola in 1997 which helped accelerate support for the Mine Ban Treaty. Sri Lanka is one of HALO’s longest standing programmes. HALO has been operational in the island since 2002 and has cleared more than 300,000 mines and over one million explosive remnants of war, enabling thousands of families to return home safely. HALO is the second largest employer in the Northern Province, and its workforce is 99 percent locally recruited. Women make up 42 percent of the demining teams, reflecting HALO’s commitment to local empowerment and employment in post conflict communities.

Rishini Weeraratne, Ambassador for Sri Lanka, The HALO Trust:

“It is a privilege to support The HALO Trust’s mission. Although Sri Lanka is my home country and close to my heart, I am also committed to advocating for HALO’s work around the world. Millions of people live with the daily risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance. By raising awareness and amplifying the voices of affected communities, I hope to contribute to a safer future for families everywhere.”