Shobu, Yanagiba

Japanese Knives

For Slicing Sashimi

Since it is sharp and long from hamoto (heel) to kissaki (point), you can slice sashimi in one stroke, making the cut surface beautiful. It maximizes the taste because its sharp edge does not damage the cells of food. It is called “Shobu” in the Kansai district and “Yanagiba” in the Kanto district. The “Fuguhiki” used for slicing pufferfish is thinner compared with other sashimi knives.

  • Shobu, Yanagiba

    Yanagiba/Shobu

    It is called yanagiba in the Kanto district and shobu in the Kansai district. A short while ago, this type of knife was considered a Kansai-style sashimi knife, but today it is used to slice sashimi even in Kanto. It is called shobu since its shape looks like an iris (which is called shobu in Japanese).

  • Fuguhiki,

    Fuguhiki

    Because it is mainly used to thinly slice pufferfish, it is made thinner than a shobu knife. The width at the heel of the knife is narrower than shobu too.

  • Takohiki

    Takohiki/Sakimaru Takohiki

    This is a Kanto-style sashimi knife. The knife with a square point is takohiki and the knife with a round point is sakimaru takohiki.

  • Yanagi-Kiritsuke

    Yanagi Kiritsuke

    It is a Kanto-style sashimi knife. It can be used not only for sashimi but for vegetables too.

  • Kaisaki

    Kaisaki

    This knife is shaped like a shobu knife but is shorter. It is a knife used for preparing clams, but since it is also used to cut baran (decorative leaf), it is sometimes called barankiri.