Tako hiki
Tako hiki ( Japanese タ コ 引 , literally: octopus puller ), Yanagi-ba ( 柳 刃 , literally: willow blade ) and Fugu hiki ( ふ ぐ 引 き , literally: puffer fish puller ) are long, thin-bladed knives that are used in traditional Japanese cuisine Find use and there as sashimi bōchō ( 刺身 包 丁 ) for the preparation of sashimi (thinly sliced raw fish ) and seafood .
Similar to the nakiri bōchō, there are different models in Tokyo and Ōsaka that differ slightly in shape.
In Osaka the yanagi ba has a pointed end of the blade, while in Tokyo it is known as tako hiki and has a rectangular end. The tako hiki is usually used to prepare octopus. Typical fugu hiki are very similar to yanagi ba except that their blade is much thinner and more flexible. As the name suggests, fugu hiki are used to fillet very thin slices of puffer fish ( fugu ) for sashimi.
The length of the knives is designed for medium-sized fish. For particularly large fish, such as tuna , there are special large designs, for example the almost two meter long oroshi hōchō ( お ろ し 包 丁 ) or the only slightly shorter hanchō hōchō ( 半 丁 包 丁 ).
A selection of different Japanese knives, including a long Oroshi hōchō (above the hook), which is used for filleting tuna at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo .
Hancho hōchō, a half-length blade in the Tsukiji fish market.
