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SITTING IN Asaka Japanese Restaurant’s dining room, diners glimpse Indy sushi chef Nina Takamure alongside her father, Tsutomu. Since 2009, the duo have worked together: She handcrafts the nigiri and maki, while he cooks the ramen and tempura for the restaurant’s devotees.
“There are many,” says Nina. “We have customers who come into Indy annually for business or events. They get a hotel near [Asaka] so they can come every day while in town.”
Nina was born in Kumamoto, a prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Her family immigrated to Indianapolis when she was a child and Tsutomu, a former businessman, decided to buy Asaka and operate it as a family endeavor. As a teen, Nina joined as a server, then—at Tsutomu’s urging—apprenticed and became as proficient as her master sushi chef dad.
To find a woman expertly cutting a sliver of toro over a mound of vinegared rice is a rarity. Several myths regarding women persist in the field, such as the demands being too great, their hands being too small or warm, and—the kicker—their menstrual cycle affecting a dish’s taste. All are easily debunked as nothing more than misogyny, and those falsehoods don’t matter to Asaka’s enthusiasts. On a recent Thursday night, the parking lot was full of cars covered in fresh snow while their occupants sat over bowls of steaming noodles and handrolls.
Nina, now mother to a 3-year-old, is enjoying the good times at the restaurant while they last. “My dad is 73,” she says, “and I want to grow my family.” Retirement, it seems, is on the horizon for both. “In a few years—three tops—when he is done, [Asaka] will be done.”
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