Jiro Dreams of Sushi Page #4

Nowadays, parents tell their children,

You can return if it doesn't work out."

When parents say stupid things like that,

the kids turn out to be failures.

I don't know much about my parents.

I don't know much about my father.

This is me.

It's 1927 or 1928.

They had a professional photographer

come just to take this picture.

So, back then,

my father was making money.

He made good money taking people

on boat rides.

But his business failed,

and his life fell apart.

All he did was drink.

Later, he went to work

at a military factory in Yokohama.

I heard that he died.

But I didn't go to the funeral...

I lived with him until I was seven.

I never heard from him again.

I was on my own after that.

Our father started as an apprentice

and was paid almost nothing.

According to our mother,

when they got married...

they only had ten yen

in their bank account.

That's how poor we were.

I remember when Coca Cola

in cans first came out.

All the other kids were drinking Coke

but we were so poor

we didn't get to drink it.

Back then, in most canned drinks

the flavors were on the bottom.

I thought you had to shake the can.

I shook it, and when I opened it

the liquid burst out.

We had saved up for months!

My brother was furious.

Less than half the liquid remained

in the can.

I felt so sorry.

Even now he probably thinks about it.

I still feel guilty.

When the kids were small...

Takashi would say...

on the rare occasion that

I was at home sleeping in on a Sunday...

Mom, there's a strange man

sleeping in our house!"

It's a true story.

I would get up at five

in the morning and go to work.

I would get home after ten at night

when he'd be asleep.

When they were young,

I didn't get to see them often.

I wasn't much of a father.

I was probably more like a stranger.

Our father was always strict

with himself.

We hold ourselves to the same standard.

I let them graduate from high school.

Then, they wanted to go to college

but I convinced them to help out

at my restaurant.

They didn't go to college.

It's difficult

to maintain a restaurant...

and it's difficult to leave

and start your own.

It's normal to be competitive

when you're younger.

You need competition

in order to improve.

But if we both were to continue working

at our father's restaurant,

when he retires...only one of us

could be the head chef.

And I don't think I'm inferior to

my brothe rjust because I'm born later.

Were you jealous when Takashi

started his own restaurant?

In Japan, the eldest son succeeds

his father's position.

That's what is expected of me.

We came back to work after World War ll.

The masters said that the history

of sushi is so long...

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