For the Naruto

Naruto

is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...

 character, see List of Konoha Chunin
Tatami Iwashi (タタミイワシ) is a Japanese processed food product made from baby sardine

Sardine

Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....

s or shirasu (白子 / しらす) laid out and dried while entwined in a single layer to form a large mat-like sheet. Typically, this is done by drying them in the sun on a bamboo frame, a process that is evocative of the manufacture of traditional Japanese paper.

Tatami Iwashi can then be cut to various sizes and used in different ways. Common serving styles include use as an ingredient in soup or cut into small pieces for use as a snack or accompaniment to sake or beer drinking, known as sakana

Sakana

or is a Japanese term referring to food eaten as an accompaniment to alcohol. Sakana may also be referred to as otsumami; this term usually applies to smaller dishes...

.

This food item is named for its resemblance to a straw tatami mat common in traditional Japanese-style rooms

Washitsu

, meaning "Japanese-style room", is a Japanese term used as an antonym for the term yōshitsu , meaning "Western-style room." Another term for washitsu is nihonma , and the comparative other term for yōshitsu is yōma ....

or houses.

External links

• The process of making Tatami Iwashi (with Japanese text) can be seen here on the website of Japanese manufacturer Hamato.