Ehime Matsuyama Oshi Zushi Pressed Sushi Regional

Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku — tai-meshi documented as Matsuyama castle town cuisine; uwajima style from southern Ehime fishing culture

Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku Island has a distinctive sushi tradition centered on oshi-zushi (pressed sushi) and the use of local ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea and Pacific Ocean sides. Tai-meshi (sea bream rice) is Ehime's signature dish — whole sea bream cooked on top of seasoned rice in a clay pot, the fish flavoring the rice as they cook together. Jakoten (じゃこ天) is Ehime's distinctive small fish paste cake — made from small fish ground into paste and deep-fried — an everyday protein eaten as snack, in udon, or with sake. Uwajima taimeshi (南予たいめし) is a different preparation: sashimi sea bream served on rice with raw egg-dashi sauce.

• Both cook rice in direct contact with whole fish — fish releases gelatin and fat directly into rice for complete integration → Arroz a banda (fish-flavored rice) Spanish
• Both involve fish and rice cooked together in clay vessel — different seasoning, same unified flavor principle → Ca kho to braised fish in clay pot over rice Vietnamese

Sea bream sweetness fully integrated into rice — clean Seto Inland Sea fish flavor defines Ehime identity