Tonight, Ruby Lee will be a living sushi platter for a private home in Santa Monica. Flowers, leaves, and raw fish will be her attire for the night. Casual conversation and offers to feed her sushi will also be on the agenda. For Lee, this is just a regular Friday night. For others, this is the Nyotaimori Experience.
Lee is a 24-year-old “sushi model” who frequently makes an appearance for private events booked for the Nyotaimori Experience – a private business that caters sushi off naked models. For many models like Lee, the sushi covers her breasts and underwear area; the rest of her body is completely exposed. She is one out of twenty models who work for the owner of the Nyotaimori Experience, Chef Mark Scharaga. Her slender figure, large breasts, and bright personality make her the perfect candidate to model for sushi. Her availability is dependent on the location of the gig and if she feels comfortable working with the clients who would like to book her.
As a self-proclaimed entertainer, Lee is multi-faceted. When Lee is not spending nights being a sushi platter, she can be found Gogo dancing, modeling for other events, acting, or performing as a mascot at a popular Southern California theme park -- one that she does not want to mention the name of due to privacy reasons. Lee understands that the role of an entertainer demands versatility, and her willingness to persevere is what makes her stand out among other performers. No matter the situation, Lee strongly believes that an entertainer must sacrifice their own needs for the art and the audience.
“People paid money to go to these things, and I want to make it worth their while,” Lee says.
Such sacrifices for her art have helped Lee become a better performer overall. Earlier in her career, she recalls a time where she was the model for a live body painting event in LA. She was instructed to stay as still as possible while the artist painted on her. This process was done in the middle of large crowds trafficking through. She could hear people whispering comments among one another and she would turn around to look at them. Although she cannot recall the comments ever being harsh, she does remember them being critical, and, at the time, it was difficult for her to ignore what people would say about her. She did not realize it right away, but her constant moving made it difficult for the artist to paint on her, and even though his art was not ruined, it took longer for him to finish his piece.
Lee recalls that moment with regret.
She regrets the way she acted towards her audience and the artist. If she ignored comments from the audience, Lee believes the atmosphere would have been calmer and the artist would have finished his work without any troubles. Since then, she vowed to be more mindful of those participating in the art and those viewing the art.
What she describes as her mantra is that she wants to treat others the way she would like to be treated. As such, she holds her performances to a high standard. She would not enjoy performing if she did not put her best effort into it, as that is something she would like to see from others. This mentality leads her to be her biggest critic, but this understanding has also opened more opportunities for her to mature and be more patient with her audience.
However, her patience is tested mostly when people from the audience try to touch or grab her, which is very common at the events she performs at.
During a bachelor party in Los Angeles, Lee was lying on the table modeling sushi when one of the male guests stated that he was a vegetarian and attempted to eat the leaf covering Lee’s chest. With the way the sushi is placed on her body, the leaves are used to cover her private areas, and the man attempting to take the leaf of almost exposed her in front a group of intoxicated people. Although Scharaga stepped in and escorted the man out of the property, Lee did not always have another person there to protect her.
At other events, Lee is required to perform atmosphere modeling, which is a type of modeling where the model interacts with the audience in the crowd, but does not touch them. During a private event at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, the host provided Lee with a pink and purple fairy costume that did not cover most of her body, but did so just enough so she was not entirely nude. The costume also included expensive wings that made it difficult to maneuver through the crowded area without getting in the way. At this event, people kept touching her wings and many attempted to take them off of her. While there were other models and security at the event, it was not possible for anyone to instantly reach Lee if someone were to inappropriately touch her.
“It was hard, I’m not going to lie. The costume was expensive and I was responsible of taking care of it, but when these people kept touching me, it made it hard to do my job,” Lee says.
Every so often, the demand to fulfill her job to the expectations she has for herself can be draining. For a majority of these events, she is usually dressed in little to no clothing. When she has to interact with the audience in barely any clothes, it is common for people to try to harass or objectify her. After being in the entertainment industry for over two years, she has gained an elevated understanding of how people view models and women.
A majority of the outfits Lee wears for the events she is booked for are scantily clad. Besides her private areas, the rest of her body is usually exposed. The different events have different themes and she has dressed as a sexy mummy, candy girl, chess piece, card, sailor, fairy, and latex queen, just to name a few. Most of these events are for raves, private events, or clubbing events on the West Coast. The latest event she modelled at was the Electric Daisy Carnival, which is a rave in Las Vegas. She was dressed in the usual bikini setup, but with a red wig, white thigh high boots, and an oversized lollipop larger than herself as her accessory.
Her lack of clothing at these events has made it common for men, even women, to make insulting comments at her body. At a clubbing event in LA, Lee recalls how she was dressed as a sexy bunny and a drunk man tried to grab at her and kept calling her beautiful, as he attempted to hold her waist closer to him. When she rejected his efforts, he got angry and called her a "dumb whore" that should not be dressed like that if she is not "down" for anything.
“After dealing with this stuff for so long, I started to understand how people really are. Men tell me I’m beautiful and a whore all in the same sentence. It used to hurt, but now it doesn’t phase me. It doesn’t stop me from doing my job,” Lee says.
As a Korean-American, Lee has dealt with much criticism and hate for the way she poses and dresses for events and photos. A lot of the criticism is from other women who always question if her figure is real, and usually put her down by "advising" she get a "real job" where she does not have to subject herself to that.
On her Instagram page, she has posted many photos of her in latex outfits with whips, lingerie, or in the nude with tape covering her private areas. Lee recalls that around the time her Instagram page started getting more personality, she posted a photo of herself in a sexually suggestive pose without any clothes, but her breasts and underwear area were edited with black lines. In the comments of that photo, two women were talking to each other and making fun of the way Lee was posed. One of the women made an insulting comment on how she wonders if, "this bitch has a real job." Lee decided to block both of them. She also realized she was going to be in the spotlight, and comments such as these should not be taken personally.
While it can be assumed that Lee is objectifying herself for posting such scandalous content, she views this from another perspective.
She considers her work art, and her body is a tool used to portray the art she wants to produce. Posing and dancing half nude is empowering according to Lee; her body and how she chooses to display it is not something she is ashamed of. Alternately, it is something she is actually proud of. The criticism she receives does not bother her.
On days where she is needed to model sushi, she invests a lot of time mentally preparing herself. At these events, she takes into consideration what type of event it is, the type of guests she will be catering to, and the type of sushi that will be displayed on her. She uses these factors to best accommodate her audience with the way she speaks to her guests and the body language she uses.
During an event in Santa Monica, Lee was the sushi model for a bachelorette party. Typically, guests would be shy to approach Lee and grab food off of her, and to combat that, Lee would try to make eye contact with as many guests as she can and greets them. At this event, Lee was on the table and the women were looking at her, but not getting any food. To ease the tension, Lee tells them that, "besides tips, I also accept sushi donations." After that, some of the women actually started to feed her.
When she is lying on the table, Lee is not simply a person on a table, but rather a performer displaying art on her body.
When Scharaga places the sushi on Lee, she knows that he is exerting his own creative and mental energy into this art. As an artist herself, she does not want to do anything that will ruin his art or disappoint her audience. She views herself as a blank canvas and the art that is displayed on her should be taken with care and respect.
When is Lee is laying on the table catering sushi, there is a lot to see. Cherry blossoms, lilies, and other types of flowers are decorated all across her body. Salmon, tuna, and other types of fish are like paint coloring her body. Placed underneath the fish, the leaves are accents that complement the art. Lee feels as though she is one with her art. Even if the idea of her nudity seems controversial, Lee believes her nudity is an artistic form of expression, and that there is so much more to it than viewing it as a form of objectification.
Even from a Korean-American household, her parents support her wishes to be an entertainer and to do the work she does. While they may not fully understand Lee’s desire to use her body as a form of art, they still support her and have learned to accept her daughter’s goals as long as it fulfills her life and makes her happy.
However, her parents did not always agree with Lee’s path in life.
As new immigrants from Korea, Lee’s parents raised Lee and her older sister in a small town in Iowa before they decided to move to Los Angeles when her father found a new job. They moved downtown, so her father's commute to work would be very close. For convenience, she went to a high school nearby.
Having immigrant parents, Lee struggled getting along with her parents, especially her mom. Their relationship surrounded areas of misunderstanding and ignorance from both parties.
“My parents did not like the company I kept. They would always make remarks about how I should be more like my sister because she’s way more responsible than me. They would say stuff about how I was too Americanized and that I needed to focus more on school,” Lee says.
However, ever since Lee moved out of her parent’s home two years ago to live with her boyfriend, her relationship with her parents changed dramatically. The separation allowed Lee to become more independent and understanding of her parent’s wishes, which in turn also gave her parents space to be more patient with Lee and see how she can take of herself.
Growing up, Lee was not the confident and gorgeous woman she is now. She describes herself as once being awkward and unsure of herself. However, after joining the pep squad in high school, she realized that performing was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She enjoyed the thrill of the attention she got and making others happy. This helped her confidence a lot and inspired her to seek opportunities to perform beyond just the pep squad.
After graduating high school, one of Lee’s friends asked her if she could model for him. The photoshoot was intended to help him build his portfolio, but after Lee posted her photos on her social media, people began to take notice of Lee. Other photographers then reached out to Lee and would ask if she would like to model for them. This helped her to build a modelling career for herself.
Eventually, Lee’s following got traction and Scharaga took notice of her. Through a modelling page on Facebook, Scharaga reached out to Lee and asked her if she wanted to model for sushi.
“Even though it is not something new, sushi modelling was still this unusual and scandalous thing. I love food and the idea of modelling food is an offer I couldn’t pass. It was just a plus that I got to do it naked,” Lee says as she raises one of her brows and winks.
Through the Nyotaimori Experience, Lee was able to become closer with Scharaga and get noticed from other businesses and event hosts. The private catering businesses has been featured on Vice, Playboy, and ABCTV. Most recently, Lee was interviewed by Circa News for her sushi modelling.
Scharaga gets booked by people from all over the United States, and sometimes travelling to certain locations cannot work for Lee, as they are too far and she would have to pay the travel costs herself. She also prefers to model in a setting where she feels that she is in a relaxed environment, so if she feels uncomfortable, she would reject working with that client.
The only barrier between Lee and the sushi is thin green leaf that covers most of her mid-section and her private parts. A spectrum of colorful pieces of sushi lay atop Lee’s body as Scharaga gently places his best work on his model.
For those that crave a taste for sushi and adventure, eating sushi off of a naked woman’s bosom can be the highlight of anyone’s day.
“Nyotaimori” is a Japanese word that is often referred to as, “body sushi.” It is a Japanese practice of serving sushi or sashimi off a naked female body. The Nyotaimori practice is considered a subculture to the geishas, and would mostly take place during special or celebratory events. It is said to have originated during the samurai period, the 1800s, and would usually take place in a geisha house as a celebration from battle.
While this practice is not new, it has gained increasing popularity within the past few years. However, it has evolved quite a bit since the samurai period, and is considered to be more of a form of art rather than this idea of objectifying a woman’s body.
Booking a night with the Nyotaimori Experience is not cheap. The taste for this party spectacle comes at a price, as it is considered a luxury experience and only comes with the best and top quality fish that is bought from the fish market the same morning it is served. While prices depend on the location and type of event they will be catering at, prices for a basic 1-2 hour session start at over $1,500.
This practice is considered a luxury, as a lot of thought and creative artistic expression goes into making sure the clients are satisfied with their experience. In addition to that, models such as Lee take days to prepare for these sushi events.
“It’s honestly a process. I’ll spend those days making sure my skin is exfoliated, my nails are clean -- especially my toes because there’s food on me and no one wants to eat on you if you don’t look good,” Lee says.
Before every event, she also makes sure to wax, shave, and shower. Cleanliness is obviously crucial for this experience, and Lee makes sure to go beyond expectations to satisfy her guests.
On a typical day, there is a long preparation process. The sushi is always fresh. If there is an event scheduled that night, Scharaga would go to the local purveyor for seafood in whichever city he was booked at then go to the market to get fresh vegetables that same morning. Usually Scharaga and his team needs to be at the event two hours before the actual event starts, so he can prepare his dishes. The leaves are chilled in ice water which is usually at 35 degrees, and the model is directed to wash herself in cold water, so the sushi can stay fresh.
In addition to the technical aspect of this process, there is also an artistic aspect to it. For every model, Scharaga lays his sushi out based off of the model’s body type.
“Ruby has a great figure. Flowers on her breasts look a lot nicer than leaves usually, and with the way her body is set up, there’s a lot of room for me to be more creative with how I want to place the sushi,” Scharaga says.
The placement of the sushi also matters. For example, if some people are vegetarian, vegetarian sushi will be on one side of the model’s body. If some people are allergic to certain foods, Scharaga will place those foods on another part of the model’s body away from the other food. Usually it takes around 45 minutes for him to set his design up.
Traditionally, models were not allowed to speak, but Scharaga encourages guests to talk to Lee and to generate conversation.
However, with this exhilarating freedom, there are boundaries and limitations. Even though the experience usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours, many of the clients that book Lee eventually get drunk as the night furthers on. Some men and women try to touch Lee, even when it is not allowed. Before each event, Scharaga makes it clear that clients cannot touch the models and need to be respectful towards them.
Even when guests do not comply anyway, Scharaga knows that Lee is always willing to remain patient and do her best to alleviate the situation.
“Ruby just has this can-do attitude for anything. She is very helpful and she does what she can work the situation out,” Scharaga says.
As it can be assumed, laying on a table for almost two hours with cold raw fish on your body is not the most comfortable situation to be in. Even if Lee needs to use the bathroom or is itchy, she chooses not to tend to her own needs. While she admits that it was uncomfortable when she first started sushi modelling, it has become second nature to her. Laying almost-naked on a table with chilled fish for an hour or two is normal for Lee, and when she tunes the situation through an entertainer's perspective, she ignores her body's needs, for the sake of the art.
During a birthday event they were booked for in Los Angeles, Scharaga was trying to set candles up, but they kept falling down. The main reason they could not stay was because the candles were on Lee’s body and he was afraid the wax would melt on her. She took her time working the situation out with Scharaga and offered things she could do with her body to make the candles stay up. Eventually they figured out how to make them stay up with seaweed, but throughout the whole process, Lee did not complain or suggest that they not put candles on her.
Besides birthdays, the Nyotaimori Experience has been booked for a vast variety of events. They have been booked for anniversary parties, yacht parties, corporate parties, and special holiday parties, just to name a few. Interestingly, for bachelor and bachelorette parties, women tend to be more grabby than men.
“A lot of women think it is okay to touch the models because they’re also women. They don’t understand that doing that will make the model uncomfortable, and I’d usually have to step in and tell them to stop,” Scharaga says.
Scharaga has invested a lot of care into Lee. Although she is one of his employees, they have developed a friendship. At an event where the guests did not tip Lee enough money that she had hoped, Scharaga took money out of his own earnings to make sure Lee was paid enough. Tips at these events usually start at $10, but accumulate to a few hundred, also depending on how large the party is. Usually the guests are friendly and generous, but since the party was smaller than usual, Lee felt short on tips. Most of the best tips she has gotten were at larger and upscale events. The largest tip she recalls ever getting is $100.
This friendship developed in part due to Lee’s bright personality. Even though Lee is involved in a very adult and scandalous industry, she carries a childlike personality that displays a sense of innocence and simplicity.
One of Lee’s friends, and fellow Gogo Dancer, Ivy Han, believes that Lee’s success and attention is due in part to her child-like personality.
“I was dancing at this clubbing event in Los Angeles when I first met Ruby. We made eye contact, and all of a sudden she went up to me and started humping me and told me I was hot. Like who actually does that?” Han says laughing.
Lee’s energetic persona has made her desirable to event hosts. Many models that do the work she does usually carry a mature and guarded demeanor. However, Lee can be found goofing off or being silly at the events she gets booked for. Her high energy earned her the title of “Energizer Bunny” among her colleagues, and has helped her stand out.
However, Lee claims she is still a work in progress. Although she has earned a reputation in the entertainment industry, she wants to expand herself beyond modelling and dancing. Some interests she is currently seeking are juggling and puppeteering. Additionally, her boyfriend of six years is creating music with his band, and they are working together so that Lee can dance on stage with him. His music has also inspired her to learn more about music production. With her curious nature, Lee can be found diving into many areas that will help her succeed in new interests.
Her main goal is to just learn and experience more. Even though the entertainment industry is an uncertain field, Lee is determined to build a sustainable career out of it. Beyond that, she hopes to build a life where she can express her creative and artistic energy with others.
“Being in Los Angeles, you have the whole world come to you. Everything can be in your hands if you’re smart about it,” Lee says.
