
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - hboon
http://www.magpictures.com/jirodreamsofsushi/
======
siglesias
For the uninitiated, the subtext of this movie is pondering whether Jiro's son
Yoshikazu will be able to successfully take over the restaurant when Jiro
retires. It's the age old question of what does it take for apprentice to
finally surpass the master; who is a worthy successor to the master, etc.

This is particularly relevant because the valley's succession story du jour is
Apple and whether Tim Cook et al can take the reins in the wake of Steve Jobs.
The following quote struck me:

"It's not going to be easy for Yoshikazu to succeed his father at the same
restaurant. Even if Yoshikazu makes the same level of sushi it will still be
seen as inferior. If Yoshikazu makes sushi that's twice as good as Jiro's,
only then will they be seen as equal." (32:06)

This is exactly what Apple has been going through in the last year, exacting a
level of polish that is on par if not above what they released last year, but
still leaving nagging doubts in the hearts of the faithful. The one thing that
would silence critics and quell fears would be that something _twice_ as
revolutionary as the original iPhone be straight up imagined, developed, and
hoisted by the post-Jobs Apple--just to claim par.

~~~
chnx
Near the end of the documentary it is said by Jiro that his son (Yoshikazu)
was the one making the sushi when it was being graded for the three Michelin
stars and that being the head chef is the easy job because all the hard
preparation work is done by the people under him. I think this somewhat
applies to Apple as well — while Jobs was an excellent curator of sorts, he
was supported by excellent people like Sir Jonathan Ive and others. So I
wouldn't be surprised if they continue to create highly innovative products.

~~~
rdl
The thing I particularly liked was how he picked his vendors based on their
expertise. He admitted to knowing less about tuna than his tuna guy, less
about rice than his rice guy, etc., and his relationships were long-term and
mutually beneficial.

~~~
momotomo
Really appreciated this point too. None of his vendors seemed to have a
genuine interest in anything outside of the quality of their craft and the
honour of their relationships. It was incredibly refreshing, and seems to be
part of quite an old set of values for the region that might not pop up as
much these days. Or at least, be promoted as widely as more capitalist ethic.

~~~
DeepDuh
That's Japanese Culture for you. Many see their job as their highest life goal
and they seek its perfection in order to honour their family/team
mates/company/fellow Japanese or whatever their group association is at the
moment. This idea then trickles down to even low wage jobs, where you still
get an above par work quality. Trying Starbucks (cleanliness) and McDonalds
(look and taste) in Japan is an interesting experience.

~~~
momotomo
Looking forward to it if I ever have the chance. There's an element of
contentment to this approach that I really appreciate.

------
danielford
The most memorable part of the movie for me was when the interviewer asked
Jiro what it takes to be a master of your craft. He started off mumbling
standard old-man stuff about hard work, and then he mentioned something I've
never heard before, that you should never complain about your job.

I was thinking about this in the context of my teaching. In general teachers
complain about their students three times as much as students complain about
their teachers. Here's an example, take a look at the Chronicle of Higher
Education's forum on teaching:

<http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php?board=25.0>

The overwhelming majority of the activity there consists of complaints about
students, with "the thread of teaching despair" currently at 447 pages. There
are even entire websites devoted to the practice, like College Misery.

It's not like I've never vented about my job, but I've also always been a bit
uneasy with the practice. After reflecting a bit, I think it's because time
focused on what other people are doing wrong isn't spent figuring out what you
should be doing right.

So as an experiment I'm going to force myself not to complain about any aspect
of my job during the coming semester. If I'm happier and better at my craft by
the end I'll adopt it as a long-term practice.

~~~
epo
A splendidly heroic way to miss the point. Someone who doesn't complain isn't
actively trying not to complain, they are content with their lot. Thus,
forcing yourself yourself not to complain is as silly an ambition as declaring
"I will not think of elephants".

Complaints stem from discontent and/or powerlessness.

It is important that Jiro is largely in control of his own destiny, however
small that might be. Most teachers are not really in control of anything
significant at their workplace, cetrainly not their destiny. Most students
don't yet have a destiny, they are forced to attend and are purely reactive.

Choose the right thing to do, be content doing that.

------
dleibovic
I'll be the dissenter here-- I was not a fan of the movie. It was a boring
piece about a man obsessed to the point of craziness about sushi. His kids
said to the mother: "Mommy, who is the strange man in our house?"

The man was Jiro, their father. Is that the childhood you want your children
to live? For me, the mastery of a craft is not worth this price.

~~~
rapidstuff
IMO, most comments & takeaways around the documentary focused on being
passionate and loving your work. But the documentary does make you ponder over
whether it is worth the price of not being there for your children.

On a separate note, the scenes of the fish market shows the ugly side of over
fishing our seas.

~~~
opminion
_the scenes of the fish market shows the ugly side of over fishing our seas._

What do they show? I can't figure out how one thing could show the other.

~~~
timr
You have to know some subtext: those tuna take human lifespans to grow. There
are dozens of them there, every day.

------
russtrpkovski
The movie is free for Amazon Prime subscribers.

[http://www.amazon.com/Jiro-Dreams-of-
Sushi/dp/B008ODZEQ0/ref...](http://www.amazon.com/Jiro-Dreams-of-
Sushi/dp/B008ODZEQ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346505272)

------
jonny_eh
It's currently streaming on Netflix (in the US at least):
<http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70181716>

------
creamyhorror
I'm really surprised this managed to get to the front page. Then again, I
watched it and liked it, so I guess it comes down to similar preferences in
the HN crowd.

Jiro's dedication to his craft is a fitting example for those who aspire to
the highest levels of achievement in any field. The film's a paean to putting
your life into what you do; it's also about the sacrifices that involves, and
the impacts on those close to you.

I came out wishing I could be just half as dedicated as Jiro. Maybe one day
I'll dream of code?

------
tptacek
Best paired with:

[http://www.cookingissues.com/2012/06/08/tokyo-
tales-300-of-s...](http://www.cookingissues.com/2012/06/08/tokyo-tales-300-of-
sushi-in-30-minutes/)

Dave Arnold from Cooking Issues writing up a trip to Sukiyabashi Jiro.

------
sanxiyn
Jiro is a workaholic. Think about it.

[http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/04/jiro-lives-worth-
livin...](http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/04/jiro-lives-worth-living.html)

~~~
tptacek
I'm not sure I agree with your comment, but that is a very provocative
article.

I wish he had framed it in terms other than whether these lives were "worth
living", though.

------
rwmj
There's an interesting review of sorts of the restaurant here:
[http://www.cookingissues.com/2012/06/08/tokyo-
tales-300-of-s...](http://www.cookingissues.com/2012/06/08/tokyo-tales-300-of-
sushi-in-30-minutes/)

------
staunch
One could probably make 100,000 more documentaries approximately identical to
this one at other family owned businesses. The only thing particularly unique
about this place is that it came to the attention of Michelin and then a
documentarian. I don't mean that as a knock against Jiro's place at all, I
just think the filmmaker overplayed the story. That and the combination of
Japan and sushi made the situation seem even more exotic and rare than it
really is.

It was entertaining though. I especially liked the part when he said something
like "Welp. I'm ready to go. Why am I even here [at his parent's shrine]. My
parents treated me like crap."

~~~
zampano
I'm not sure there are 100,000 family-owned businesses where the owner has 75
years+ experience, spends 15+ hours a day at work and takes their job so
seriously. I've worked in kitchens that were highly-rated in their own cities,
but they never approached the exacting all-around level of quality and detail
of Jiro's restaurant. If you've ever worked in the food industry, you'd
definitely know the care they take in all steps of their process blows away
all but the best of the best restaurants and I believe the stars from Michelin
reflect that.

------
astrojams
One of my favorite documentaries of this year. I LOVED this movie.

~~~
kennyt
Same here, his passion and work ethic for his craft is inspiring.

~~~
platonichvn
Definitely a great documentary. It reminded me of the importance of a passion
for your craft and a sincere desire to do great work.

------
breakyerself
I don't know what it was but I was in awe of this guy and his family and the
whole culture with the whole movie.

------
Hominem
In the movie, Jiro admitted to giving women smaller portions. The women seated
at the bar commented on how clever that was. I wonder if that would fly here
in the State. If women are getting less for the same price, i think most
Americans would find that fundamentally unfair.

------
marban
I would rank it among a typical Gary Hustwit movie but it did become
repetitive at times. Obviously not as thrilling as Man on Wire but when it
comes to documentaries about devoting every waking minute to your passion,
it's a top pick.

------
hboon
If you are really into your craft and/or love sushi, this is a great movie for
you.

------
pheon
that the full menu costs $300 and you will finish in 30min. also reviews of
the his sons restaurant say they get angry if you dont eat everything...

~~~
patio11
Not finishing what you're served in Japan is, approximately, the same comment
as a $0 tip is in America, except about food quality rather than service.
Culturally, the act of not eating something prepared for you reads like "Your
food is inedible and unfit for human consumption" rather than "I wasn't that
hungry" or "This particular dish, well, I wasn't quite feeling it." This will
generally not endear you to fancy chefs, although you might get a bit of
leeway if you look obviously foreign.

(Japanese people get in trouble on the tip thing _all the time_ in the US, so
much so that my travel agent helpfully tried to instruct me on "peculiar
customs of Americans" when selling me a ticket to my hometown.)

~~~
itmag
_Japanese people get in trouble on the tip thing all the time in the US_

I think it's not just Japan. Here in Sweden, tipping is done at times but it's
certainly not something mandatory.

Please do educate me more on US tipping customs. I don't want to be a fool
when I go there in future...

~~~
ebiester
Simple: American service has a peculiar quirk in that servers are paid (in 95%
of the country) around 2 dollars an hour, and are compensated in tips instead.
At minimum, 15% is expected as a tip, even for bad service, and good service
has an expectation of 20%. Truly bad service should be spoken to with the
manager, rather than simply leaving without any tip.

Note that servers expect you to tell them if something is wrong, so that it
can be corrected.

If you have a discount, you are still expected to tip on the full amount.

When you look at the price, add about 9% (depending on locale) for sales tax
and another 15% on top of that for the tip. (Tip used to be pre-sales tax, but
is considered post-sales tax today.)

Many people tip 20%, but it is not required. Fast food has no tipping.
Starbucks and other coffee places, a tip is appreciated but not required. Bars
expect a dollar per drink.

~~~
zampano
I think the bit about talking to the manager is key here. Many of my friends
are servers and customers will sometimes stiff them entirely on tips because
they are upset about the quality of the food or some other transgression of
the restaurant, but really this only affects the servers and hardly ever goes
up the chain to the management. If you are having an issue, you need to talk
to the manager or odds are it will never be corrected. Plus, when you've been
sitting there an hour and your server might only have four tables, you could
end up being a much larger portion of their tables that night than you
realize. It's not uncommon to have little old ladies take over a table for a
few hours drinking tea resulting in the server walking away with substantially
below-average tips that night. I find the system completely unfair but have
not yet found a way to protest it that wouldn't directly hurt the servers.

~~~
slurgfest
If the purpose of the restaurant is to serve the waiters then they should be
paid at least a living wage up front, rather than requiring me to vacate my
seat as rapidly as possible and be required to supply minimum wage on pain of
death.

Don't blame the customers for not tipping enough when there are such problems
with labor law and restaurant management.

~~~
tptacek
If you object to the system of tipping waiters so strenuously that you're
willing to stiff someone who earns a bottom-quartile income to serve you, just
don't eat at sit-down restaurants.

Going to sit-down restaurants and refusing to tip is a great recipe for
becoming a pariah.

~~~
mootothemax
_Going to sit-down restaurants and refusing to tip is a great recipe for
becoming a pariah._

Quite. I really don't understand the idea of showing one's dissatisfaction
with tipping by hurting the guy earning $2/hour _and not the owner of the
restaurant_ \- it seems pretty obvious whose bottom line will suffer the most
in this instance.

