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Japanese-made knives are loved by people all over the world for their diverse shapes and high performance. Knives are important cooking tools, and Japanese-made knives are widely supported by everyone from professional chefs to ordinary households because of their sharpness and ease of use. Here, let’s explore the various shapes, characteristics, uses, and origins of knives made in Japan.

Table of Contents
・Santoku
・Gyuto
・Sujibiki
・Petty（Petit）
・Deba
・Sashimi, Yanagiba
・Nakiri
・Usuba
・Conclusion

🌽For vegetables　🍖For meat　🐠For fish

Santoku（三徳）🌽🍖🐠

【Features】
The Santoku knife is known as a Japanese all-purpose knife. Santoku means “three virtues,” and as the name suggests, it is suitable for handling a variety of ingredients such as meat, fish, and vegetables. It features a flat blade and rounded tip, making it easy to cut and make cooking tasks go smoothly.

【Application】
It is used for a wide range of cooking tasks, including carving meat and fish and chopping vegetables. It can be used for a wide range of purposes, from the basics to advanced cooking, and will become your reliable companion as you expand your cooking range.

【Origin】
The Santoku knife was born in pursuit of the diversity and efficiency of Japanese cooking. The name “Santoku” means that it is suitable for handling various ingredients such as meat, fish, and vegetables. It became widely used in Japanese households in the early 20th century, and gained popularity with the spread of modern Japanese cuisine.

Gyuto（牛刀）🌽🍖🐠

【Features】
A gyuto knife is similar in shape to a Western chef’s knife, and is a fusion of traditional Japanese knives and Western elements. It features a straight blade that allows you to efficiently cut a variety of foods such as meat and vegetables.

【Application】
As an all-purpose knife, it is used for a wide range of dishes such as cutting meat, cooking vegetables, and processing fish. It is used by a wide range of people, from professional chefs to general cooking enthusiasts.

【Origin】
Gyuto knives are a fusion of Japanese craftsmanship and Western culinary culture influences. It was developed to meet Western needs while inheriting the tradition of Japanese knives.

Sujibiki（筋引き）🍖🐠

【Features】
Sujibiki knives are characterized by a thick spine and straight blade, allowing them to be used with great force. It has a similar shape to a gyuto, but is longer and more slender than a gyuto, making it suitable for detailed work.

【Application】
It is mainly used for breaking up chunks of meat and cutting the tendon of meat. Also suitable for removing skin from chicken and cutting bones. The most typical dishes where a sujihiki knife is useful are meat dishes such as roast beef and steak, but recently it has also been used to cut sashimi.

【Origin】
As the name suggests, the name “sujibiki knife” comes from the process of “sujihiki,” which involves neatly pulling out the sinews from meat, and its use for cutting the sinews in meat.

Petty/Petit（ペティ）🌽🍖🐠

【Features】
The Petty knife features a small, slender blade, making it suitable for delicate work. In general, most blades have a blade length of about 12 cm. It is lightweight and easy to handle, making it suitable for precision work.

【Application】
Suitable for detailed work such as preparing fish, cutting fruits, and cutting vegetables into small pieces. It is an indispensable tool for cooking that requires attention to detail, such as finishing and decorating dishes.

【Origin】
The Petty knife was born from the fusion of traditional Japanese cooking culture and Western influences. The name “Petit” means “little” in French. Although it has a similar shape to a Western knife, it has been refined using unique techniques by Japanese knife craftsmen, making it suitable for detailed work.

Deba（出刃）🐠

【Features】
Deba knives are characterized by their thick and strong blades. The spine is generally thick and the tip is rounded. This shape is suitable for cutting fish bones and can be used with force.

【Application】
It is mainly used when cleaning fish. Suitable for neatly separating fish heads and bones. It is an essential tool when preparing sashimi and sushi, which are traditional Japanese dishes.

【Origin】
Deba knives were developed by chefs during the Edo period to process fish. It has a long history and is closely tied to Japan’s fishing culture.

Sashimi（刺身）・Yanagiba（柳刃）🐠

【Features】
Sashimi knives are characterized by extremely long and thin blades. Basically, it has a single edge and is sharp, making it ideal for thinly slicing raw fish. The long blade allows you to cut the fish in one motion, creating beautiful cross-sections that preserve the flavor without crushing the fish fibers. The blade is also sharp, allowing you to cleanly remove the sinew and skin from fish.
Yanagiba knife is a type of sashimi knife, so called because the shape of the blade resembles a willow leaf.

【Application】
It is mainly used when making sashimi. Suitable for cutting raw fish into beautiful thin pieces. Since it is not suitable for cutting hard things such as bones, it is used for cleaning fish with a Deba knife and slicing it thinly with a Sashimi knife. It is sometimes used not only for sashimi but also for cooking seafood in general.

【Origin】
Sashimi knives have developed as essential tools for Japanese sashimi culture. The Japanese tradition of enjoying raw fish has been going on for a long time.

Nakiri（菜切）🌽

【Features】
Nakiri knives are characterized by a flat, wide blade. It has good sharpness and can easily cut vegetables. Basically, it has a double-edged design. The straight and weighted blade has a uniform width all the way to the cutting edge, so you can cut vegetables efficiently and easily with less force. The flat and wide blade makes it easy to cut large vegetables such as cabbage and Japanese radish, and is suitable for cutting vegetables evenly. Not suitable for detailed work.

【Application】
Mainly used for cutting vegetables. It can be used in a variety of dishes such as salads, stir-fries, and soups. Suitable for shaping and finely chopping vegetables.

【Origin】
The Nakiri knife developed as an indispensable tool for Japanese traditional cuisine. As the name suggests, it specializes in cutting vegetables.

Usuba （薄刃）🌽

【Features】
An usuba knife is a traditional Japanese vegetable knife that is characterized by its flat blade.
It is similar to the Nakiri knife, but while the Nakiri knife has a double edge, the usuba knife has a single edge and is thinner. The thin blade allows you to cut vegetables neatly without crushing their fibers. Also suitable for peeling carrots, potatoes, etc.

【Application】
Used for cutting vegetables. Specialized in delicate cuts, suitable for decorative cuts and thin slices. This knife is indispensable for decorating traditional Japanese dish such as Japanese cuisine and Kappo cuisine.

【Origin】
Usuba knives are traditional Japanese vegetable knives that were created as part of Japanese food culture. The name  “usuba” comes from the thinness of the blade. It was developed to match the culinary culture of Japanese cuisine, which emphasizes beauty and delicacy, and specializes in cutting vegetables.

Conclusion

The diverse shapes of Japanese knives are refined to suit the needs of each type of cuisine and user. These knives, created by the skill and passion of knife craftsmen, are an essential part of the culinary world, and their quality and performance are highly valued around the world.

Imoto Sangyo handles a wide variety of knives.
In addition to knives, we also carry a variety of ceramics, kitchenware, and daily necessities.
For more information, please see the “Goods & Cases” page.