Shobu & Takohiki Knives

Shobu & Takohiki knives are ideal for slicing. This knife is useful for slicing fish fillets, sushi & sashimi, turkey, roast beef, squid, octopus, other seafood

Shobu & Takohiki Knife Background

Shobu literally means Iris Leaf. These knives are popular in Western Japan, primarily around the Osaka and Kyoto areas. The shape is a slim blade which looks like a Katana (sword), suitable for slicing tasks.  The style of knife is well known as a great sushi knife, with a single bevel edge good for cutting and filleting fish. It’s pointed and easy to use and can cut beautiful sashimi just by pulling in a single motion without moving the kitchen knife back and forth.

Takohiki is another sushi knife unique to the Tokyo region of Japan. The tips are blunt and square in shape, which helps the chef carefully scoop the slices of sashimi onto a plate. Tako means octopus, hiki means pull. As with Shobu, this sushi knife is pulled in order to cut using the blade length. By pulling the knife, allowing the edge to slice the tissue of sushi will not collapse.  This allows for the cut to be clean and consistent.

According to the legend, Takohiki was a square-shaped tipped sushi maker in the Edo period, who was reprimanded for pointing the tip of a knife towards the customer. Interestingly, the tradition of not directing sharp cutting knives to customers still remains, and Takohiki is still favored in Tokyo.