Sushi is, in the West, the gay marriage of food, which is to say that not so long ago, people in the west didn't like the idea of eating raw fish at all, but once it became commonplace and accepted, especially for kids these days, it became mainstream.
Sushi is a cuisine that reaches sublime heights through the use of fresh ingredients from the sea (below) and from the mountains (above).
Sushi is a style of preparation that was introduced to Japan with the spread of Buddhism in the 9th Century when it was still common practice to drink milk and eat meat, when it suddenly became necessary to devise new ways to store and prepare fish.
Sushi is a meal in which one participates in the process in its entirety, places one's order directly with the chef, sees the fresh ingredients, is able to evaluate their quality and follow along with their preparation.
Sushi is representative of a distinct pattern of globalization that defies its usual patterns. Because of its simplicity and its ability to reflect 'individual' styles, it is not susceptible in the same way as other international foods to the dumbing down by corporate monoliths.
Sushi is an index to a nation's worldliness, expressing not only the sophistication of a country's taste, but also an equally sophisticated confidence in the procedural purity of an industry with great potential for corruption and adulteration.