Ancient Japanese 'Naked Sushi' Tradition Catches On in Florida
The "naked sushi" trend — you know, the one "Sex and the City" Samantha latched onto in the hit movie as a way of tantalizing her boyfriend — has been bait for geisha partygoers in Japan for centuries.
Now, it's catching on in Florida, according to The St. Petersburg Times.
A club in Clearwater has attracted open-mouthed patrons after adopting the tradition, which involves serving raw fish delicacies straight off the body of a barely clothed woman.
On a recent night at the swanky lounge, known as The Dirty Martini, Chef David Keir seductively took off the model's black kimono, leaving her in nothing but a teeny G-string and flower-shaped pasties, the Times reported.
The woman lay on a small stage in the club and, as gawkers watched, the 35-year-old chef covered her body with colorful sushi rolls atop leaves of bamboo.
Did we mention the sushi is free?
Dancers in sexy school-girl getups flanked the naked sushi-server, dancing suggestively to the sultry, pulsating music, according to the Times. And then, Keir picked the pieces of raw fish right off the woman's stomach with tongs and placed it on drooling diners' plates, much to their glee.
Naked sushi has only just arrived in Florida in the past four months, according to the Times, though it's been a craze around the world for years.
The ritual known in Japanese as "Nyotaimori" (which means "female body presentation") originated in Japan hundreds of years ago as part of the geisha scene, historians say.
Not surprisingly, it has its detractors. In 2003, noisy, relentless protesters in Seattle stopped naked sushi for good at the Bonzai Pub and Bistro on the grounds that the practice is rife with human rights violations.
Florida police and the state health department have been nosing around naked sushi nights to make sure they aren't breaking any laws or violating any sanitation codes.
So far, Florida authorities haven't found anything to take issue with.
Keir defends the tradition as "my expression of art."
Hey, I think this is pretty cool. Matter of fact, "I think anything people want to freely do, without imposing on anyone else's turf, is really cool." Live and let live. Get your sushi wherever it suits YOU. Check out more on this story at Naked sushi comes to Clearwater bar - St. Petersburg Times
"Naked is Natural,
Naked Sushi is a Choice"
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