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Yanagi-ba-bōchō (柳刃包丁, literally willow blade knife), Yanagiba, or yanagi, is a long and thin knife used in the Japanese cuisine. It is the typical example of the sashimi bōchō (Japanese: 刺身包丁, sashimi [raw fish] bōchō [knife]) used to slice fish for sashimi and nigiri sushi.

When preparing sashimi and nigiri sushi, the goal is usually to have cut surfaces that are smooth, shiny, and even in order to maximize the taste. The construction of a yanagiba is designed for this purpose.

Length: The long blade allows the user to cut a block of flesh in a single stroke. This prevents zigzag cutting, which creates a serrated cross section.
Thinness: The blade is very thin behind the edge which allows the cut to be made using primarily the weight of the knife. Greater force or thickness would result in tearing or bruising of the flesh.
Nonstick properties: The back face (urasuki) is concave to easily detach the blade from the substance being cut, and the front bevel (shinogi) allows sliced piece to be easily removed from the blade after cutting.
Steel properties: The yanagiba is crafted using techniques from those of the Japanese sword adapted to modern requirements. The blade is constructed from soft iron, which allows general toughness of the blade and ease of sharpening, laminated to high carbon steel, which allows hardness of the cutting edge and sharpness. The steel is typically Hitachi blue or white steel.
Single ground: For right-hand use, the yanagiba has a bevel on the right side and is concave on the left. This allows a more acute angle compared to most double bevel knives and nonstick properties.
Cutting direction: While almost all western knives are used to push and cut, the yanagiba is used pull and cut instead.^[1]

The first two characteristics are particularly for yanagi-ba-bocho, and its name 'yanagi' is from long and pliant characteristics of a willow branch. The other characteristics are shared by all knives in Japanese cuisine. The important principle in using a yanagiba to prepare sashimi is not cutting down but pulling with its long blade in a single motion.

References

^ "Oishya". Oishya. Retrieved 2022-01-06.

[1] "Oishya". Oishya. Retrieved 2022-01-06.

[1]

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 {{short description|Japanese knife for preparing sushi and sashimi}}
 <!--#REDIRECT [[tako hiki]]-->{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
-[[File:YanagiBaKnifeFrontFace.jpg|thumb|250px|''Yanagi ba'' (front face)]]
+[[File:YanagiBaKnifeFrontFace.jpg|thumb|250px|''Yanagiba'' (front face)]]
-[[File:YanagiBaKnifeBackFace.jpg|thumb|250px|''Yanagi ba'' (back face)]]
+[[File:YanagiBaKnifeBackFace.jpg|thumb|250px|''Yanagiba'' (back face)]]
 [[File:Japanese knife blade types B.svg|right|thumb|250px|(b) is angled on both sides, (a) and (c) only on one side, where (a) is for right hand use and (c) is for left hand use.]]
-'''''Yanagi-ba-bōchō''''' (柳刃包丁, literally willow blade knife), '''''yanagi ba''''', or '''''yanagi''''', is a long and thin [[Japanese kitchen knife|knife]] used in the [[Japanese cuisine]]. It is the typical example of the ''[[sashimi bōchō]]'' (Japanese: 刺身包丁, sashimi [raw fish] bōchō [knife]) used to slice fish for ''[[sashimi]]'' and ''[[sushi|nigiri sushi]].''
+'''''Yanagi-ba-bōchō''''' (柳刃包丁, literally willow blade knife), '''''Yanagiba''''', or '''''yanagi''''', is a long and thin [[Japanese kitchen knife|knife]] used in the [[Japanese cuisine]]. It is the typical example of the ''[[sashimi bōchō]]'' (Japanese: 刺身包丁, sashimi [raw fish] bōchō [knife]) used to slice fish for ''[[sashimi]]'' and ''[[sushi|nigiri sushi]].''
-When preparing ''sashimi'' and ''nigiri sushi'', the goal is usually to have cut surfaces that are smooth, shiny, and even in order to maximize the taste. The construction of a ''yanagi ba'' is designed for this purpose.
+When preparing ''sashimi'' and ''nigiri sushi'', the goal is usually to have cut surfaces that are smooth, shiny, and even in order to maximize the taste. The construction of a ''yanagiba'' is designed for this purpose.
 * Length: The long blade allows the user to cut a block of flesh in a single stroke. This prevents zigzag cutting, which creates a serrated cross section.
 * Thinness: The blade is very thin behind the edge which allows the cut to be made using primarily the weight of the knife. Greater force or thickness would result in tearing or bruising of the flesh.
 * Nonstick properties: The back face (''urasuki'') is concave to easily detach the blade from the substance being cut, and the front bevel (''shinogi'') allows sliced piece to be easily removed from the blade after cutting.
-* Steel properties: The ''yanagi ba'' is [[Japanese swordsmithing|crafted using techniques]] from those of the [[Japanese sword]] adapted to modern requirements. The blade is constructed from soft iron, which allows general toughness of the blade and ease of sharpening, laminated to high carbon [[steel]], which allows hardness of the cutting edge and sharpness. The steel is typically [[Hitachi]] blue or white steel.
+* Steel properties: The ''yanagiba'' is [[Japanese swordsmithing|crafted using techniques]] from those of the [[Japanese sword]] adapted to modern requirements. The blade is constructed from soft iron, which allows general toughness of the blade and ease of sharpening, laminated to high carbon [[steel]], which allows hardness of the cutting edge and sharpness. The steel is typically [[Hitachi]] blue or white steel.
-* Single ground:  For right-hand use, the ''yanagi ba'' has a bevel on the right side and is concave on the left. This allows a more acute angle compared to most double bevel knives and nonstick properties.
+* Single ground:  For right-hand use, the ''yanagiba'' has a bevel on the right side and is concave on the left. This allows a more acute angle compared to most double bevel knives and nonstick properties.
-* Cutting direction: While almost all western knives are used to push and cut, the ''yanagi ba'' is used pull and cut instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oishya.com|title=Oishya|website=Oishya|language=en|access-date=2022-01-06}}</ref>
+* Cutting direction: While almost all western knives are used to push and cut, the ''yanagiba'' is used pull and cut instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oishya.com|title=Oishya|website=Oishya|language=en|access-date=2022-01-06}}</ref>
 The first two characteristics are particularly for ''yanagi-ba-bocho'', and its name 'yanagi' is from long and pliant characteristics of a willow branch.  The other characteristics are shared by all knives in Japanese cuisine.
-The important principle in using a ''yanagi ba'' to prepare ''sashimi'' is not cutting down but ''pulling'' with its long blade in a single motion.
+The important principle in using a ''yanagiba'' to prepare ''sashimi'' is not cutting down but ''pulling'' with its long blade in a single motion.
 ==See also==

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers