Tsukiji Wonderland

Close to two thousand tonnes of seafood arrive at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market every morning from all over the world. Naotaro Endo’s documentary describes that operation from the inside rather than from above, following the days of the intermediate wholesalers, the nakaoroshi, who form its real backbone. How a fish is chosen, what its quality is judged by, which dealer sets what aside for which chef, and how that arrangement turns into trust over years, are all laid out in turn. The film argues that these stalls shaped Japanese food culture into what it is now. It was shot while the market was preparing to move to Toyosu, so it also records a working culture about to change address. What emerges is less a food documentary than a portrait of a trade.