Naked sushi leaves a bad taste

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Robert L. Jamieson Jr.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Naked sushi leaves a bad taste

By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

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%

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.

P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or robertjamieson@seattlepi.com

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