

Jiro's Dream - enra
http://karrisaarinen.com/jiro

======
joezydeco
I watched this movie on a flight home recently and loved it. Loved the man,
loved that he found a calling and stuck to it, loved that he never changed a
thing and won worldwide acclaim because of it.

Then I got home and read Ebert's review. This paragraph hit me like a punch to
the stomach and put it all in perspective:

 _"Even at the high prices of his premium fresh ingredients, you realize he
must be a rich man. But to what end? The existence of his sons are an
indication that he has a wife, although we never see her. He must have a home,
although we never visit it. There must be hours when he cannot be at work, but
the film indicates no amusements, hobbies or pastimes. The idea of his
courtship of his wife fascinates me: Forgive me, but I imagine that even while
making love, he must be fretting about the loss of valuable sushi-making
time."_

[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20...](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120404/REVIEWS/120409996)

~~~
owenjones
Ebert's comments were a surprise? One of the major themes of the movie is the
incredible cost of perfection/mastery. Everyone wants to be the best at
something, but so very few are willing to give everything to perfect their
craft.

~~~
joezydeco
They were a surprise because I got suckered in by the direction of the
filmmakers.

Here's Jiro. Jiro is successful, and let's explore what he does. It's so
freaking simple when you look at it, right? He practices and practices. He's
meticulous, he's a perfectionist. And wow, look at those Michelin stars. And
look at how people line up months in advance to eat at his restaurant.

I was so dazzled by the simplicity and success of Jiro that I totally forgot
there could be _any_ cost to this. And the filmakers _never_ took us there.
Like Ebert points out, we never got to meet his wife. And what other damage
was caused by this drive to success? Was there any at all? Again, something
that fully deserved to be explored. Or was the movie just a tribute to the
success of Jiro?

My CEO will never be Jiro. He may think he's Jiro. Hell, he also thinks he's
Steve Jobs. But when I hear him on the phone again for the nth evening telling
his son he won't be home because some VC term sheet has an incorrectly-crossed
T...I just have to sit back and think _it's not fucking worth it. EVER._ No
matter how much we worship the IPOs and fuck-you-money-level-exits on HN,
there are thousands of kids sitting at home wondering if their parents will be
home to tuck them in that night.

~~~
andyakb
I think that is a major question the documentary should make you ask; is it
worth it? I mean, it makes it pretty clear that to achieve that level of
greatness requires huge sacrifices that come from complete devotion to a
craft. Missing that point takes away a lot from what he achieved and also puts
it into perspective.

------
petercooper
This is why I collect screenshots of UI elements and Web pages I think look
good (several thousand in the last 10 years). I was the typical "I can't do
design!" developer for years, but if you pay attention to and record your
tastes then your skill level will slowly begin to close the gap.

~~~
sthatipamala
It's been posted countless times but Ira Glass (radio personality and host of
"This American Life") has very similar advice:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI23U7U2aUY>

~~~
petercooper
I knew I was summoning up my taste-vs-talent terminology from something I'd
read/heard but couldn't remember what. That's exactly what it was - thanks!
:-)

------
iandanforth
I am now $120 poorer thanks to this 'free' movie.

After watching this movie you may be tempted to find your nearest high quality
sushi restaurant, sit at the bar and ask the Chef to make you whatever he sees
fit. This is a delicious but very expensive idea. I did get to try a number of
dishes that I would never have ordered though ... all thanks to Jiro.

~~~
NeilRShah
Ha! The exact same thing happened to me.

If you are in DC I highly recommend the tasting menu at Sushi Taro. Very
similar experience to the film - 10 courses of amazing food (although it
includes some non sushi items as well).

------
nkurz
99% Positive with critics on Rotten Tomatoes:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jiro_dreams_of_sushi/>

Available for free streaming with Amazon Prime: <http://www.amazon.com/Jiro-
Dreams-of-Sushi/dp/B008ODZEQ0>

Or streaming for Netflix subscribers:
[https://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi/7018...](https://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi/70181716)

------
noonespecial
"But just when you think you know it all, you realize that you're just fooling
yourself... and then you get depressed."

\--A Fish Vendor

~~~
wdewind
The look he gives the camera after saying that is priceless.

------
wahnfrieden
Tangential, but I just ate at Sukiyabashi Jiro last week and it was
incredible. They were much friendlier than sometimes portrayed too.

~~~
phaus
Was it worth almost $400 per person? Or $19 for each piece of sushi?

I'm not surprised that they were very friendly. Most of the people in the
documentary stated that Jiro has a "stern" appearance when he's making sushi.
From my experience, I find that people often mistake concentration for anger.

~~~
wahnfrieden
As with many things it's diminishing returns, but I can easily say it far
exceeded any other I'd had (and I used to live there). Whether it's worth the
money is up to you. It was for me, though I won't be coming back for the same
omakase again. I'd go back for a few individual ones that stood out. The
omakase course is IMO the right way to get the full experience your first
time.

It also wasn't as rushed as I've read, though it wasn't a full house when I
went. The course lasted at least a half hour, then we were seated at a table
with watermelon and tea and however much time we wanted to wind down.

~~~
wahnfrieden
Some notes if you want to visit: They seem to require you make a reservation
from a Japanese number. They will direct you to their (lesser or at least much
different) Roppongi branch if you're not a fluent/native speaker, so get a
friend in Japan to do it for you. You can only reserve for the following
month, so do it on the first day of the previous month. This means that you'll
probably have to plan your trip around the reservation you're able to get.

------
utopkara
If you have a master of a trade in your family, you will know the weight of
the title master, and the respect that comes with the excellence in detail.
You will also know by example that a master is a person of search and
tinkering not unlike a child, while knowing the depth of the trade from both
experience and learning from others. Jiro is lucky that he can continue his
trade at age 85. We are lucky to observe a real master we can look up to.

------
pgambling
Coincidentally, I watched "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" this evening, and I'm
pleasantly surprised to see it on the front page of HN. I was absolutely
fascinated by Jiro, and I couldn't stop thinking about how his advice is
applicable to honing you software development skills. Jiro never stops trying
to improve in all facets of his craft, including the seemingly minor details.

I agree with the Roger Ebert quote that it's clear he sacrificed much of his
family life to obtain this mastery. Jiro even admits that he wasn't a good
father. However, if you love what you do, as he does, then I can't fault him
for it. We'd be so fortunate to have that kind of passion.

~~~
noirman
Jiro Dreams of Sushi was probably on the front page for more than couple of
times. Here's one just 2 days earlier:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4462539>

------
noirman
"75 years rule" is the new "10,000 hours rule".

~~~
rdl
If life extension pans out, imagine how awesome it would be if experts easily
could spend 75 years perfecting their craft without dedicating their entire
lives.

------
skibrah
I agree with the OP, but the most important part of Jiro's philosophy is his
believe that one must choose a craft and dedicate one's life to perfecting it.

If this is the mindset that you take towards your work, you will naturally
seek out the best in your field and learn what they do best to incorporate it
into your own approach.

~~~
arkitaip
Is there such a thing as craft in programming? Our industry changes so fast
that it's difficult to imagine anyone becoming a master craftsman.

~~~
petercooper
Yes. At least, a lot of people claim there is:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_craftsmanship>

I'm not particularly a fan of the "software craftsman" moniker/movement but I
think there can be craft to it. Technologies come and go but programming
language paradigms, core algorithms, and fundamental ways of working with code
_tend_ to remain similar across the decades.

