As the snow slowly descended from the heavens on March 23, 2024, it was an auspicious sign for the Grand Opening of Nagi Sushi.

The first visible sign of progress was the newly erected Nagi Sushi sign, which was emblazoned with the kanji for calm, 凪 . . .

Here, in an unassuming street replete with equally unassuming strip malls, Hiroha-san would establish Nagi Sushi.

In a smoky snack bar in Maebashi in the late 1980s, a young Moriyuki Hiroha, otherwise known as Shu, tended the counter . . .

“Hiroha-san, are you opening a restaurant?” “I’m still thinking about it.”

Unbeknownst to the majority of people, the concept of sushi is relatively young, having only been invented 200 years ago . . .