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1
Prepare the sushi rice. Fold the sushi vinegar through warm cooked short-grain rice using a cutting motion — do not stir. Fan the rice as you fold to cool it to just above room temperature. The rice is ready when each grain is glossed with vinegar seasoning, holds its shape, and the mass has a faint sheen without visible moisture pooling.
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2
For hosomaki, place a halved nori sheet on the bamboo mat (makisu), shiny side down. Moisten your hands lightly — not wet, as over-moistened hands prevent the rice adhering to the nori. Spread a thin, even layer of rice across the nori, leaving a 1 cm gap at the far edge bare. Lay a single ingredient — tuna baton, cucumber baton, or mashed umeboshi — along the near third of the rice. The rice layer is correct when the nori surface is uniformly covered and the far gap is clean and dry.
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3
This is where the roll lives or dies: grip the near edge of the mat and the nori together and execute a single, decisive forward roll over the filling, bringing the near rice edge to meet the far edge in one continuous motion — not a tentative, incremental press. Apply firm, even tension across the full width of the mat. Hold the rolled mat under light pressure for several seconds. The finished hosomaki should feel firm and round under the mat; a roll that yields softly to fingertip pressure will collapse when cut.
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4
For futomaki, plan the cross-section composition before assembly: arrange dashimaki tamago, kanpyo, shiitake, cucumber baton, and sakura denbu in a sequence that will produce a legible, balanced visual face when the roll is sliced. Use a full nori sheet. Spread rice evenly, leaving the 1 cm sealing gap. Arrange the five or six components in a compact band across the near third. Roll using the same decisive single-motion technique as hosomaki, applying greater mat tension to contain the additional filling volume. The roll is correctly sealed when the seam lies flat at the base and the cylinder holds its shape without support.
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5
For uramaki, lay a halved nori sheet on the mat. Spread rice across the full nori surface — no gap is left, as the rice becomes the exterior. Scatter toasted sesame seeds evenly across the rice. Lay a sheet of cling film over the rice, then flip the assembly so the nori faces upward. Arrange the filling along the near third of the nori surface. Roll as for hosomaki, using the cling film to prevent the rice adhering to the mat. The exterior rice surface is correct when the sesame seeds are evenly distributed and the surface is smooth without tears.
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6
To cut, wet a sharp knife with a damp cloth between every slice. Draw the blade through the roll in a single pulling motion — no sawing. Hosomaki yields six pieces per roll; futomaki yields eight. The cut face is correct when the cross-section is clean, the rice edge is uncompressed, and — in futomaki — the planned ingredient arrangement is legible at the face.
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7
Temaki is assembled at the table immediately before eating. Hold a halved nori sheet in the palm, place a small amount of rice on the near corner, add the chosen filling, and roll into a cone between the hands. Temaki must be eaten within 30 seconds of rolling: the nori is correct while it remains audibly crisp under the fingertips; once it softens to the touch, the structural and textural purpose of the roll is lost.