epilogue: the fall of Jiro

I reviewed the fascinating 2011 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" some years ago (back in 2015—the Before Times, pre-pandemic), but I just saw that there's now a gloomy epilogue: Jiro's world-famous restaurant has lost all of its Michelin stars* and is now branded a cold, pretentious experience by some. Wow. Frankly, I can imagine a lot of Koreans nodding their heads quietly: the Korean impression of Japan (which occupied Korea for 36 years, 1910-1945) is that it's overly obsessed with ritual propriety—a rage for order that renders any experience cold, mechanical, and soulless. I'm sure there are millions of Japanese who would disagree, not to mention expats in Japan, and not to mention ethnic Koreans living in Japan, but the stereotype lives on. My mother mentioned it, and I've read about similar things in books comparing Japanese and Korean monasticism (some Korean monks joke about the Japanese monastic obsession with pain as a tool of meditative discipline). Fueling the stereotype—if I may risk a stereotype of my own—is Korea's tendency to be a color-outside-the-lines culture despite its own strict conformism and many instances of social discipline (hierarchism, politeness toward certain strangers in some contexts, Confucian filial piety, etc.). Koreans tend to be a bit more unruly, obstreperous, and cantankerous than the Japanese, but that might be changing as both Korea and Japan—like all societies—continue to evolve.

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*This loss of stars is not because of a sudden drop in quality, but because the restaurant became so popular and so exclusive that it was no longer accessible to the general public. Only exclusive clientele dine there now, and as a result, Michelin retracted all of its stars in 2019. As the video explains, this had the paradoxical effect of heightening the resto's cachet.

ADDENDUM: the name of the YouTube channel that made this video is Forking with Michelin. It seems to be devoted to highlighting the dark side of Michelin-starred restos:

The first YouTube channel uncovering the dark truths behind the Michelin Guide. Are the stars a mark of excellence or a product of bias and hype? We don’t chase free meals or fame. We expose the system. Have you had a bad Michelin Guide experience? Are you being overworked and underpaid at a Michelin level? You’re not alone. Let's expose the secrets and controversies in the Michelin world of fine dining, luxury hotels, and culinary masters.

So take the above video with a big grain of salt. I don't doubt that Jiro both lost his stars and went too "exclusive" with his clientele, but there may be other interpretations of what's happening. I'd particularly like to fact-check the video's claim that the resto is currently losing business. If anything, the place still seems to have a customer backlog.