To reject this relationship, then, in favor of a more vain approach represents a flagrant bastardization of one of the most essential components of the philosophy behind Japanese cuisine and its corresponding aesthetic. Boasting that you prefer a more “correct” or “pure” version of sushi – and criticizing all that does not fall within these rigid parameters – directly contradicts the notion that cuisine ought to serve as a reflection and extension of its own environment, free of corruption or superfluous and inappropriate additions (remember the story of Sen no Rikyu and the sugared watermelon?). That having been said, one could argue that the American use of atypical ingredients such as the avocado in the preparation of sushi is actually in perfect accordance with the essence of Japanese cuisine.

Also, I would be careful using buzzwords such as “purity” from now on. Not only are “purity” and “authenticity” purely subjective terms, the transfer of culture across geocultural boundaries is not a new phenomenon and oftentimes practices which we regard as “traditional” may in fact be quite the opposite. For example, matcha, which many both inside and outside of Japan consider to be a representative Japanese beverage, was actually introduced to Japan by Chinese buddhists centuries ago. Sushi in its present form didn’t even exist until the mid-nineteenth century, when it was introduced as a fast food alternative to the more “authentic” narezushi.

On a lesser note, is it not inappropriate to judge the “authenticity” of a certain cultural practice based on the parameters of another culture? Japanese-American sushi is not Japanese sushi, and therefore should not be judged as such. Likewise, while Chicago pizza, for example, fails as Italian pizza, it excels in its own right as a separate dish.

So, is the sushirrito silly? Certainly. What’s worse, however, is disregarding the fundamental principles that inform the Japanese culinary tradition in favor of adherence to some distorted understanding of “purism”.

My problem is that since their is a language barrier between Chinese owners and uninformed Americans, is that they understand little about what sushi truly is and anyone that says that a Chinese owned placed is bad. I’ve seen Japanese owned placed operate with the same mentality.