Description

Hirame. (Left facing flounder, Olive Flounder.) Hiragana: ひらめ. Katakana:ヒラメ. Kanji:鮃. – Seasons: November – March.

• About this fish: Hirame are large olive-skinned flat fishes whose eyes are typically set to lean Left facing as they grow. – (For the opposite facing flounder, see also “Karei.”) – As a type of Nigiri: it has a subtly sweet meaty taste and firmer flesh than its counterpart, it is often served with a mint leaf (Shiso) underneath the fish; or on the side, for a pop of additional flavor.

An old legend: ‘The Tale of the Monkeys Liver.’ has it that Flounders (alongside Jellyfish) were once guards working at Ryugujo, The Dragon Kings undersea palace; It’s said that the king punished both the flounder (& jellyfish) for leaking important secrets! He punished the two fish’s entire species by splitting all of the flounders in half (& removing all of the jellyfishes bones!) and so, that’s why they’re forced to lie sideways for all eternity!

A rather hopeful poem from the Edo period goes;

“Even if you lie low like a Hirame, you still have two eyes to the sky.”

To call someone a “Hirame-Person” is a bit like calling someone a ‘suck-up.’ as though they are facing upwards, begging their superiors.

for a bit more about the other facing flatfish, see also: “Karei.”

[Sticker art by @Samkalensky, Part of my nigiri sushi/foodlore collections.]