A Japanese Introduction to Kitchen Knives

Why a Japanese Knife?

Imagine a Western sword and a Japanese samurai sword. The Western sword is massive and strong but requires tremendous power to brandish, like you see in the movie Conan the Barbarian. It is more like slashing rather than cutting.

On the other hand, a Japanese sword is much lighter and more focused on sharpness in order for physically smaller Japanese samurai to handle the sword easily and effectively.

This is the basic concept of a Western knife and a Japanese knife.

Historical and Cultural Background

In order to know how the modern Japanese cooking knife has been developed and improved, we have to leap back in Japanese history because it has been greatly influenced by history and culture over time.

People have been using stones as cutting tools since the Palaeolithic era. It is yet unclear when iron knives began to be used, but the remaining oldest knives in Japan are said to be made in the mid-7th century.

Japan's Oldest Kitchen Knives

Those oldest knives are characterized by their long handles and slender blades that are slightly curved, have no heel, and are straight from blade tip to end, making them look like mini-Japanese swords (katana).

These katana-type knives were used mainly for cutting fish because Japanese people didn’t have the habit of eating meat at that time.

In the mid-16th century, knives with wider blades, which are the prototype of today’s nakiri knife, were developed and started being widely used as vegetable knives.

A New Era of Cooking Knives

As food culture became richer, knives also evolved. From around the beginning of the 18th century, blades with heels became mainstream, and more specific types of knives, like nakiri, usuba, deba, yanagiba, and eel knives, appeared later in the 19th century. Each knife has a specific use, as described in the following sections.

Until the 19th century, fish and vegetables were the norm on the Japanese dining table, but meat-eating habits from the West gradually spread to Japanese homes. With that came the Western-style chef knife called the gyuto, which can be translated as “cow knife” or “beef knife.”

The gyuto was suitable for cutting larger blocks of meat but was too narrow for cutting vegetables and not very practical for filleting fish, so it evolved into the bunka or kiritsuke knife, which has a wider blade and sharp tip, known as a K-tip.

Later, the santoku knife was created by rounding the tip of the bunka knife to ensure safety for home use, and it is the mainstream knife used in Japanese households nowadays.

Types of Knives

One of the major characteristics of Japanese cuisine is the use of different knives for different ingredients.

This stems from Japanese cuisine culture, which places importance not only on the taste of the food but also on the appearance of the ingredients. Using a specialized knife allows you to cut ingredients neatly and without damaging the fibers. This improves the texture of the ingredients, which changes how they taste.

Here we introduce the knives that are used in the Japanese cooking scene.

Broadly speaking, knives can be divided into three types: Western knives, Japanese knives, and specialty knives.

"Western" Knives

Originally, they were used to cut meat, but they have come to be used to cut a variety of ingredients.

Western knives are double-beveled, with an edge opened on both sides. They are easy to handle because they apply force in a balanced way and are suitable for cutting and chopping.

Typical knives include the santoku, gyuto, and petty.

Santoku

It is a combination of a Western gyuto and a Japanese nakiri.

The Japanese word santoku means “three advantages,” which means it is good for meat, vegetables, and fish.

Its width makes it easy to cut large vegetables such as cabbage, and its sharp tip makes it convenient for cutting meat and fish.

That’s why the santoku is also called a multipurpose knife, and it has become the mainstream household knife.

Common blade length: 160–180 mm.

Today, santoku knives are popular worldwide, and the word “santoku” has become international.

Gyuto

Similar to Western chef's knives, it has a shape resembling a santoku knife but with a longer blade and narrower width. It is favored by professional chefs.

As mentioned in the previous section, the name gyuto comes from the meaning of “meat cutter,” but like the santoku, it is a versatile knife that can be used for a variety of ingredients.

The santoku has a shorter blade, making it easy to maneuver and use, but the gyuto is more convenient for cutting large ingredients. Its sharp tip can also be used to perform detailed work.

Common blade length: 180–300 mm.

Petty

Often called a “fruit knife,” it is suitable not only for fruit but also for fine work such as peeling and cutting small ingredients. It is also good for decorative cuts.

Common blade length: 80–150 mm.

The petty is quite easy to handle because of its size and is recommended as your second knife after the santoku or gyuto.

Japanese Knives

These are knives specialized for Japanese cuisine. A distinctive feature of this type of knife is its single bevel, with an edge opened only on one side.

Because the knife moves toward the side without the edge, it cuts without breaking down the fibers of the ingredients, leaving a beautiful cut surface. Different knives are used depending on the ingredients and purpose.

Traditional Japanese knives generally have wooden handles that can be inserted, so they can be replaced if the handle deteriorates. In recent years, however, plastic handles that resemble wooden handles are often used and are popular among overseas users where wooden handles are difficult to obtain.

Nakiri and Usuba

Knives specialized for cutting vegetables, featuring wide rectangular blades.

They were mainly used in Japanese households before the gyuto was introduced.

From leafy vegetables to large, hard pumpkins, their straight and wide blades can cut smoothly. They are also good for slicing, chopping, and pressing.

Common blade length: 160–180 mm.

Generally, the nakiri is distinguished as double-beveled and the usuba as single-beveled.

Deba

A traditional Japanese knife mainly used for filleting fish.

There are various sizes to suit the size of the fish, but the most commonly used blade lengths range from 150 to 180 mm.

It is used more boldly than other knives, for tasks such as cutting off the head of a fish and chopping bones, so the blade is thick and quite heavy.

Aideba

Similar to a deba knife, but a little thinner and lighter.

It was created to overcome the disadvantages of the deba knife being heavy and difficult to handle.

Sashimi Knife

Because the taste of sashimi is determined by the beauty of the cut surface, its blade is long and allows you to slice a fish fillet in one motion rather than moving the blade back and forth.

“Sashimi knife” is a general term for yanagiba and takohiki knives.

Common blade length: 210–300 mm.

Sujihiki

Also known as a slicer, its long and thin blade allows for curved movements, making it convenient for cutting a block of meat and removing tendons.

Common blade length: 210–300 mm.

It is often used as a substitute for a sashimi knife.

Honesuki

A boning knife for cutting and peeling meat away from bones.

It is less likely to chip when hitting a bone because it is thicker than a regular knife.

Common blade length: approximately 150 mm.

Unagi Knife

A knife for filleting eels.

The shape and length vary slightly depending on the region, and there are various types, such as Kanto, Kansai, and Nagoya styles.

Aji-kiri

A knife for filleting small fish such as aji, or horse mackerel.

Common blade length: approximately 80–130 mm.

Sushi-kiri

With its distinctive curved blade, this knife is made for cutting rolled sushi.

Men-kiri

Especially designed to cut men (=noodles), such as soba and udon.

Conclusion

Japanese knives may appear highly specialized and complicated at first, but every shape was developed for a reason. They reflect the ingredients Japanese people have traditionally cooked, the techniques used to prepare them, and the importance Japanese cuisine places on the appearance and texture of food.

Today, most Japanese households do not use every knife introduced in this article. Multipurpose knives such as the santoku and gyuto are sufficient and prevalent for most everyday cooking, while more specialized knives remain important for particular dishes and professional techniques. Together, they show how closely the history of Japanese knives is connected to the history of Japanese food.