http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamie...48_robert12.asp

Some people will cook up anything for a quick buck.


RELATED FEATURE
- Read James Goldsmith's review: Belly up to the naked sushi bar -- you can stomach it

Exhibit A: Bonzai Asian Pub and Bistro.

The Pioneer Square establishment considers it hip to serve sushi on top of scantily clad women.

It dubs the offering "naked sushi." I call it Sushi-on-the-Chick.

By whichever name, I can't stomach eating off a stranger. And I prefer my sushi cool, not body temperature.

The female models wear thongs and are hermetically sealed with plastic wrap for health-code reasons. Flowers cover body parts that could distract from the dining experience.

Patrons aren't allowed to make catcalls or lewd comments. The lady lies on her back, closes her eyes and meditates as people nosh and stare.

"Sushi is so sensual," Bonzai manager Daniel Park tries to explain to me. He says the sushi show -- it occurs once a week and after midnight -- is "performance art."

"Art can provoke a reaction," Park says. "It gives you something to talk about." So let's talk about it.

POLL
Do you think 'naked sushi' objectifies women? (See related column.)

47.3%
Yes

52.7%
No

Total Votes: 3540

Naked sushi objectifies women. Period.

The brains behind the scheme know that diners will not cozy up to a "human serving tray" that is too frumpy, lumpy or dumpy.

That's why the models are comely.

Sex is the selling point here -- just as it at places such as Hooters, except Hooters wisely keeps the food off the talent.

Defenders of Bonzai say eating sushi on women has roots in Japan.

Um, we're not in Japan, folks.

Japan permits sexist behavior that wouldn't be tolerated here -- not to mention the country's high rate of domestic violence and a carefree attitude about public misogyny.

On Tokyo streets, for example, men casually read sexually explicit magazines in front of women.

Bonzai's owner, Daniel Kim, says he didn't know the ins and outs of Japan's body sushi tradition, including feminist concerns it raises.

He says a promoter approached him about an opportunity for art, and he jumped. "It doesn't seem as if we are exploiting women," Kim insists.

One should have a better understanding of other cultural traditions before appropriating them.

One should market art as art if that's the true intention. Bonzai, despite claims, seems to be in it for titillating entertainment value.

Predictably, some local feminists are upset and are threatening to put national pressure on Bonzai unless the business says sayonara to sushi on women.

Here's one critic, Norma Timbang, executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center:

"If people view the body as an object, then they will see it as less than human. If they see it as less than human, the people will be more inclined to be abusive."

Timbang says decades of studies support her contention that sexist attitudes lead to violent outcomes.

Bonzai folks report no problems with diners abusing their "tables," and they point out their models should have the choice to do this kind of work. "And it's tastefully done," Park says, adding: "It draws people in."

I asked Timbang what her experience was like at Bonzai. Turns out she hasn't been there for naked sushi, but "people who've been there informed us."

So we have a pub owner who didn't know about the sexist historical tradition from which naked sushi arises squaring off against an activist who has never cast eyes on one of the nearly nudes. What a pair!

At the end of the day, what Bonzai is doing is perfectly legal.

Naked sushi doesn't exactly whet my appetite. But hey, we've got choices. If people have a problem with the concept, they can take their business to a restaurant where sexism isn't served up with the sashimi.

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.

I think nake sushi is reallty objectifies women, degrade women

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.

Belly up to the naked sushi bar -- you can stomach it

By JAMES GOLDSMITH
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

On a pair of plasma monitors, a Merrie Melodies cartoon commences: "Chowhound." Me, I could do with some sushi. In fact, I can't remember so keenly anticipating sushi.


RELATED FEATURES
- Columnist Robert Jamieson says naked sushi leaves a bad taste
- Do you think naked sushi objectifies women? Vote in our poll.

Partly it's the atmosphere. The guest DJ has been ramping up the thumpa-thumpa for the past half an hour (or is that my heart going pitter-pat?)

Partly it's that I'm attending a night of "naked sushi," also known as "body sushi."

Soon, a disrobed young woman, supine on a tall table and strategically covered with plastic wrap and a hint of lingerie, will serve as a platter.

I've seen it in the movie "Rising Sun," a 1993 Sean Connery crime thriller set in Japan, where this dining phenomenon has long been popular, especially among businessmen. I've read about it in reports from New York and Los Angeles, where catering companies have done a brisk business for more than a decade.

Just as I'm thinking, "Say, wasn't earlier tonight the total eclipse of the moon?" I catch a rear-view glimpse of a thin woman gliding out from the kitchen -- her only visible clothing the black straps of a thong. She disappears in the alcove opposite the bar, behind a clutch of customers.

Bonzai has been featuring naked sushi on Saturday nights weekly for the past couple months. It started on a monthly basis in May. They call it performance art.

Others call it something else. The afternoon of my visit, members of the Seattle chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum had hosted a "Community Action Forum," at the UW Women's Center titled "Protest the Prostitution of Sushi!!!"

No signs of protest were in sight at Bonzai on Saturday. I get in line, which would vary from eight-deep to none during the half hour or so of the "performance." I'd paid a $5 cover charge. Then, with the purchase of a regularly priced drink, I'd been given a red ticket, redeemable for four pieces of sushi.

My brave spouse has accompanied me here but opts not to partake. Armed with her ticket, I'll be able to make two passes. Good. It will take two passes to digest the scene.

Nearing the front of the line, I see the young woman stretched out on the table. A pair of glassed candles, like tall votives, frame her small, crossed feet. Another pair flank her head. She and the table are sprinkled with rose petals. I see her torso, down to her panties, covered with plastic wrap, flower patterns obscuring breasts.

So, she is not truly naked.

No time to gawk. I'm up. First, I turn over my ticket, then collect my gear: a small plate, a swab of wasabi, a couple shakes of shoyu, and a pair of chopsticks.

She looks serene, eyes closed, silent, breathing slowly. It must take composure, I think. Things must tickle, and itch, but you can't scratch, and you can't very well ask a customer to scratch. A young woman speaks in her ear, "Are you OK?" Slightest of nods.

I have my own problems. A photographer pops up on the other side of the table and snaps off a flash. What was I thinking at that frozen moment? I was thinking, "Let's see, what looks good?"

It's too dark to hazard a guess what the heck kind of rolls are available.

Owner/chef Jun Hong, who also owns Belltown's Wasabi Bistro, stands on the other side of her, replenishing the supply. Nothing on the legs, nothing on the breasts or panties.

Ah, that looks like nigiri sushi, maybe tuna. And I'll take this triangular thing, and a pair of whatever these might be.

Is my mind on s-e-x? N-o.

Am I looking at this bod with lust? Only for that morsel of tuna.

Is she lovely? Who can tell? She's covered with plastic and sushi.

And I'm busy with my technique, trying my very best not to poke her with my chopsticks.

I have my quota, and there's a young woman behind me at this living, breathing, mini-smorgasbord. With sushi, this is marginally OK; the concept would never work at Old Country Buffet.

Back at our the table, my spouse eats three of four pieces. But I have another round coming. We chat about how respectful the crowd is. We're surprised at the number of women who participate. It feels as though the model is afforded admiration, not lechery.

I learn later from manager Danny Park that women sometimes ask to participate after witnessing the performance art. Currently, a roster of seven rotates duties, paid a small, undisclosed sum.

Meanwhile, the bar crowd a few feet from the sushi look more concerned with Bugs and Daffy in a zany old Chuck Jones adventure that would probably be offensive to Arabs.

Nobody's turned to look at the girl, whose half-hour performance is about up. The line has dwindled.

The DJ has mixed different sounds around that same, constant thumpa-thumpa. Naked sushi comes. Naked sushi goes. And the beat goes on.

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.

some picture of nake sushi bar

http://www.nakedsushibar.com/

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.

I don't think it degrades us at all.

The USA is probably the worst bunch of narrow minded people on the planet. In other countries nudity isn't treated like it was a sin.

Breasts don't equal porn.

I don't think it objectifies us at all. In fact I keep trying to work up the nerve to go to a strip club on amateur night and go on stage. I think it would be fun.

Also, it is kind of hypocritical to slam one form of "sex sells" but not another.

The use of sex to sell products is targeted at both men and women.

LindyP

but this nude sushi bar only for men to enjoy NOT women.

i don't see a nude Man sushi bar

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.

Would it be degrading to men if someone were to offer to let the public eat donuts from an erect penis of a young man covered with Saran Wrap? If the young lady that is the "Sushi Bar" is not offended, wehy should any one else?

Funny I have a warped Krispy Kreme fantasy...you been reading my diary???

__________________

The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
One man's dream is another man's nightmare~~~~> §¤ Lilith ¤§
~>My Scribbles<~
==>Gone Shopping<== ~Just a Quickie~ *~A Celebration Vacation~* ~Surprises~ Sleeping With the Window Open
What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas

So on one side your saying that it objectifies women, and on the other side you request the same treatment for men?

Read the article again CP... women were there to eat off the plastic clad sushi model as well, so women were enjoying it too. Also, what is going on in this restaurant is much different from the pictures on the web page you posted. I would also hazard a guess that there a MUCH fewer women interested in nude man sushi compared to the number of men AND women willing to participate in nude woman sushi. I don't see this as degrading to women... especially when women that see it are asking if they can be a sushi model.

__________________
Put me on wheels and I'll turn tricks.

Clever? Nah, I ran out of that years ago. But if you find this, let me know, k?
"The road goes ever on..." ~ Tolkien

In memory of my friend skip...
Go then, there are other worlds than these

I like it! I love sushi....and so does hubby....and I appreciate ambiance at a restaurant.....so there ya go! All of it in one fell swoop!

One question? Is wassabe hot when it rests on the skin? Cause....I don't want her to burn for my sake......but I doubt I could lick it all off her if she needed assistance! It's too hot!

__________________
Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

Well, their headquarters are right up the road.

Just minus the saran wrap please.

__________________
"Old age and Treachery will overcome Youth and Enthusiasm...Everytime!"

sake or [sa - key]? ROFL

I'd also read these women are paid extremely well.

Yeah..and if I'm not mistaken...they've been doing this in Japan for years.....

how about if you are butt ugly, fat, old and wrinkle all over your body. Then your boyfriend or husband went to this type of Prostitude sushi bar.

how do you feel about that? how do you feel if you are ugly butt, ugly face, fat, wrinkle, and basically so ugly.

__________________
In other countries like Far East Asia women are still held in LOWER esteem BUT in China, it’s a different story. Chinese women are much more aggressive and outspoken and held in Higher esteem.” I love Communist that provides males and females Equality and WOMEN’S Rights in China.