Japanese Knife Types

Gyuto 牛刀 (chef knife)

Gyuto means “cow sword”. It came to Japan as a knife for meat, but today it is the main knife for everything: vegetables, meat, fish and herbs. Thinner and harder than a German chef knife, so it cuts with much less force. Most of the knives on JNS are gyutos.

Size: 180mm small kitchen  ·  210mm most home cooks  ·  240mm most popular, pro kitchens  ·  270mm big cutting boards

Best for: Everyone. If you are not sure, take this one.  Toyama · Wakui · Tanaka · Munetoshi

Kiritsuke Gyuto (gyuto with a K-tip)

Same job as a gyuto, but the tip is cut at an angle, like a traditional kiritsuke. Usually a little flatter profile, so it is very good for push cutting. The sharp tip is nice for fine work, but it is also a little more fragile. Mostly it is a matter of taste. Many people just like how it looks.

Size: 210-240mm

Best for: Gyuto users who push cut more than they rock.  Tanaka · Toyama

Santoku 三徳 (home knife)

Santoku means “three virtues”, meaning meat, fish and vegetables. Shorter and taller than a gyuto, with a flat edge and a rounded tip. Very easy to control. Good if you have a small kitchen or small cutting board, or if a gyuto feels too long.

Size: 165-180mm

Best for: Home cooks, small kitchens, gifts.  Tadafusa · Tanuki

Bunka 文化 (santoku with a pointed tip)

Bunka means “culture”. Same size and flat profile as a santoku, but with an angled K-tip. The tip is very useful for small cuts, onions and scoring. Many people find it more fun to use than a santoku.

Size: 165-180mm

Best for: People who want a short knife that still does fine work.  Wakui · Munetoshi

Nakiri 菜切 (vegetable knife)

Rectangle blade with a completely flat edge. Made for vegetables only. You cut straight down and forward, and the whole edge touches the board, so nothing stays connected. Very safe and very fast once you get used to it. Not good for rocking and not made for meat or bones.

Size: 165-180mm

Best for: People who cut a lot of vegetables. Great as a second knife.  Tanaka · Wakui · Munetoshi

Petty ペティ (small utility knife)

The name comes from French “petit”. A small gyuto for everything too small for the big knife, like shallots, garlic, fruit, herbs and trimming meat. Under 120mm it is usually called a paring knife.

Size: 120mm fine work  ·  135-150mm most useful  ·  180mm almost a small gyuto

Best for: Everyone, together with a gyuto.  Yoshiaki Fujiwara · Kaeru · Shigefusa

Sujihiki 筋引 (slicer)

Long, narrow and thin. Made for slicing in one long pull. Roast beef, ham, fish, terrines. Because it is narrow there is little friction, so slices come out clean. It is the double bevel version of the yanagiba, so much easier to sharpen and fine for left handed people.

Size: 240mm home  ·  270-300mm pro and big roasts

Best for: Carving meat and slicing fish without a single bevel knife.  Tanaka · Wakui · Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Honesuki 骨透 and Hankotsu 半骨 (boning knives)

Honesuki is a stiff triangle knife for chicken and small animals. You cut around the joints, not through the bones. Hankotsu is heavier, used to take meat off bigger bones, often held with the edge pointing down. Both are thick at the spine so they don’t flex.

Size: 145-165mm

Best for: Butchering chicken, duck, lamb. Not for chopping bones.

Yanagiba 柳刃 (sashimi knife)

Yanagiba means “willow leaf blade”. Long and narrow, made to slice raw fish in one long pull, from heel to tip. Never saw back and forth. The long blade is the point, because one stroke gives a shiny surface on the fish that you cannot get with a short knife.

Size: 240mm home  ·  270mm most popular  ·  300mm+ pro

Best for: Sushi, sashimi, slicing boneless fish.  Shigefusa · Toyama · Tanuki

Takobiki 蛸引 (Tokyo sashimi knife)

Same job as a yanagiba but with a square tip. It is the Tokyo (Kanto) style, the yanagiba is from Osaka (Kansai). The name means “octopus puller”. Thinner and lighter than most yanagibas.

Size: 270-330mm

Best for: Sashimi, for people who like the Tokyo style.  Yoshiaki Fujiwara · Toyama

Deba 出刃 (fish butchering knife)

Thick, heavy and strong. Made to break down whole fish: cut off the head, go through small fish bones and fillet. The heel is used for the hard work and the thin tip for filleting. It is not a cleaver: don’t use it on beef bones or frozen food.

Size: 120-150mm small fish like mackerel  ·  165-180mm most fish  ·  210mm+ big fish like salmon

Best for: Anyone who buys whole fish.  Shigefusa · Tanuki

Usuba 薄刃 (traditional vegetable knife)

Usuba means “thin blade”. The single bevel version of the nakiri, used by Japanese chefs for precise vegetable work, like katsuramuki, where you peel a daikon into one long thin sheet. Very thin edge, so never twist it in hard vegetables. The Kansai style (Kamagata usuba) has a rounded tip.

Size: 180-210mm

Best for: Japanese cuisine, precise vegetable cuts. Not a beginner knife.  Shigefusa

Kiritsuke 切付 (head chef knife)

A long single bevel knife with an angled tip. It can do the job of a yanagiba and an usuba in one knife. In Japan it was traditionally used by the head chef. It is hard to use well and hard to sharpen. Buy it because you want one, not as your first Japanese knife. If you like the look but not the single bevel, take a kiritsuke gyuto.

Size: 240-300mm

Best for: Experienced users of single bevel knives.  Tanaka · Toyama