Maguro bōchō: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Oroshi hocho knives.jpg|thumb|right| Long maguro bōchō, used to filet [[tuna]] at the [[Tsukiji fish market]]]] |
[[Image:Oroshi hocho knives.jpg|thumb|right| Long maguro bōchō, used to filet [[tuna]] at the [[Tsukiji fish market]]]] |
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[[File:Oroshi hocho Tuna Knife crop.jpg|thumb|A maguro bōchō in use at the Tsukiji fish market in [[Tokyo]]]] |
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Revision as of 11:22, 23 October 2010
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2010) |
Maguro bōchō (マグロ包丁, lit. "tuna knife") or Maguro kiri bōchō (マグロ切り包丁, lit. "tuna cutter") is an extremely long, highly specialized knife used in Japan to fillet tuna and other large fish.
The maguro bōchō is a longer knife with a blade length of 40 cm (16 inches) to 150 cm (60 inches) in addition to a long handle. It can fillet a tuna in a single cut, although usually two people are needed to handle the knife and the tuna. The flexible blade is curved to the shape of the spine to minimize the amount of meat remaining on the tuna carcass.[citation needed]
They are commonly found at wholesale fish markets in Japan, the largest of which is the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. They may be found at very large restaurants, but they are not used in a regular Japanese kitchen, unless there is a frequent need to fillet tuna with a weight of 200 kg (440 pounds) or more.
To those unfamiliar with Japanese knives they may be confused with Japanese swords. However, they are not a weapon but a tool, although they have been used as weapons by Yakuza.[1]
Notes
- ^ Bestor, Theodore C. Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World. University of California Press, 2004, p. 26.