9In Japan, cooking often bears aesthetic value, and the making of sushi is exalted as one of the finest culinary crafts. In line with this ideal of food as art, the Japanese often employ the word shokunin, meaning "artisan," to describe a skilled sushi chef. Connoting a complete mastery to one's craft, the title is reserved for sushi chefs who approach their work with an artistic eye and a spiritual devotion. In this stunning monograph, James Beard Award-winning photographer and author Andrea Fazzari profiles twenty of the most celebrated sushi masters on the international Japanese food scene. Through a combination of striking photography and intimate interviews, each chapter introduces readers to a new chef and restaurant, capturing the aesthetics, values, and level of dedication that elevate each one of these world-class chefs to shokunin status.