Curry and rice lovers in Tokushima take notice of this restaurant: “Shirakusa-sha.”

A restaurant which Tokushima’s curry and rice lovers cannot neglect has opened in the center of Anabuki-cho, a town located in the northwestern part of Tokushima.
The beautiful sign is the mark of this restaurant.

This restaurant is run by Mr. and Mrs. Inui, who moved here from Osaka.
Mr. Inui was formerly the editor of a fashion magazine, and he has long been a curry and rice freak.
“I visited so many restaurants serving curry and rice, and had curry 3 times a week,” he said. He started to make his own curry at home at that time.
He changed jobs and was working for a publisher in Tokushima, but he could not give up his dream, which was owning his own curry and rice restaurant.
Finally, he opened “Shirakusa-sha” with his wife in June 2018.

The unique interior of the restaurant was created by Mr. and Mrs. Inui, and it took about 1 month to complete.

Let’s check out the combination of curry and zines.

You will notice that there is a small bookstand on each table, with zines from all over Japan.
Now you can understand why the shop card says, “Curry and Zines.”
Actually, Inui said that he would like to publish a zine from “Shirakusa-sha” eventually.

The ingredients of curry and rice here vary depending on the season, and you can choose 2 kinds of curry from the menu.

They are several spices used for the curry, including mustard seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, and clove.
“The whole base of our curry is made with tomatoes, red peppers and garlic, but these spices are also often used,” Inui says.
Actually, one of the reasons Inui opened his restaurant in Mima-shi is that he fell in love with the hot spiciness of green chili, which is a special product in this area.

The special curry and rice dish which you can only eat here.

The combination of curries in this picture is “Chicken curry” (on the right) and “Beans and Naruto-kintoki (sweet potato) with iriko (small dried sardine) stock” (on the left).
You also can see 3 kinds of side dishes: some pickles, salad and stir fry on the far end.
The color of the dish is pretty photogenic and enjoyable to see. It is also attractive in that you can taste various flavors, such as “sour,” “bitter,” and “sweet” – not only just “hot” in one dish.

The papad, a cracker made with bean flour, is stuck into the rice, and it looks like a sailboat.
The style in which everything is served on one dish resembles a curry from Sri Lanka, but the “Shirakusa-sha” curry originated from “Osaka spice curry,” which has evolved uniquely in the Kansai-area.

Which way do you prefer to eat the 2 kinds of curries…?
Separately, or mixed together…?
One good point of having 2 curries in 1 dish is that you can enjoy it either way or both ways if you like, and furthermore, you can “construct” your favorite taste for the dish!

Each curry has a different and unique taste, but you can discover deep flavor and taste various spices in each of them.
Maybe you won’t be able to stop putting your spoon into your mouth once you start eating.

“I am just making curry which I really want to eat and there is nothing special at all” Inui says and smiles, “because this is just curry!”
However, the original curries (which can be called “Osaka spice curry in Tokushima”) are only served here and worth tasting even you have to drive further than usual.
When you travel in Tokushima, please visit and try Shirakusa-sha’s curry!

Shirakusa-sha
Address／33-1, Odaira, Anabuki, Anabuki-cho, Mima-shi, Tokushima
Phone／0883-53-2505
Open／11:00～14:00 on Monday, 11:00～19:00 on Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday
Closed／Wednesday, and the second and fourth Tuesday
Parking lot／5 Vehicles
Instagram account／@shirakusasha
Nearest station／JRAnabuki Station

Photographs and text by Takashi Shigeto