Takayo Kiyota and her makizushi artwork that shows faces of sumo wrestlers, which are all slightly different depending on where it’s cut. (in Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Kotaro Yamada
A face of sumo wrestlers appears on every cut of the makizushi (sushi rolls). For Takayo Kiyota, a makizushi artist, a sushi roll is an artistic medium to embed original patterns into the rice.
She lays out rice, seaweed, and regular sushi roll ingredients such as gourd so that the cross section will show motifs when the roll is cut. She also uses sesame seeds, greens, and red perillas to add colors to rice for some of her artworks. It takes at least one hour to make a simple one, while she can spend a whole day to make a detailed piece.
Kiyota started to work with the rice almost ten years ago. Since then, she has published nearly 300 sushi roll artworks, some based on even Ashura as well as Munch’s famous painting “The Scream”. She also holds lectures on how to make sushi roll artworks.
“It fascinates me as I’ll never know exactly what it will turn out unless it’s cut. Through my artworks, I want to share with people the importance and fun of food,” she said with a smile on her face.
(Jan. 13, 2015)