The santoku-bocho is the most common Japanese kitchen knife today. While it does not excel at any one particular task, its size and shape make it useable in a lot of scenarios the daily cook is likely to come across.
The direct translation of the name "santoku-bocho" is "three virtue kitchen knife". The "three virtues" refer to fish, seafood, and meat (the three foods one would need a knife for) and the santoku's purported ability to cut these foods in many ways. A more practical translation for "santoku" would be "all-purpose".
The most popular home kitchen knife in Japan before the advent of the santoku-bocho was the nakiri-bocho ("vegetable cutting knife"). This is because the pre-Meiji era Japanese diet did not feature much meat, and thus the utility of a traditional western chef's knife was limited.
Western influences brought more meat into the Japan during the Meiji Restoration, leading to proliferation of western chef's knives, which were the knives of choice for slicing and disjointing large cuts of beef at the time. At this time, however, most ordinary Japanese families still did not each much meat. The nakiri-bocho was still king in the kitchen.
Post-war, during the Japanese "economic miracle", the average family began to incorporate more meat into their diet. This modification in eating habits created the demand for an easy to use knife that was likewise appropriate for cutting meat. Necessity, being the mother of invention, lead to the santoku-bocho, a happy medium between the stubby, rectangular and linearly edged nakiri-bocho and the long, pointed, and curved western chef's knife.
Japanese knives, the santoku included, usually have less belly (curvature of the blade) than western knives. This is because of a difference in cutting technique. Look on YouTube for videos of Japanese chefs cutting vegetables. You'll notice that they use a pushing motion rather than the rocking motion of western chefs.
The santoku-bocho is also sometimes mockingly referred to as a "housewife's knife" because that's who it was created for in the first place. It's reduced length and heft makes it easier to handle for a non-professional home cook in a typically cramped Japanese kitchen.
The santoku-bocho is also defined by its ubiquitousness. It can be had just about anywhere in Japan for prices ranging from 100 to 100,000 yen.
For an at-home cook trying to find one knife that will deal with the vast bulk of your kitchen area jobs with reasonable effectiveness, a santoku-bocho will do great. My mom has been utilizing a ceramic Kyocera santoku nearly daily for the past 15 years. If you see a great santoku-bocho for a good price, absolutely buy it if you do not have one currently.
The direct translation of the name "santoku-bocho" is "three virtue kitchen knife". The "three virtues" refer to fish, seafood, and meat (the three foods one would need a knife for) and the santoku's purported ability to cut these foods in many ways. A more practical translation for "santoku" would be "all-purpose".
The most popular home kitchen knife in Japan before the advent of the santoku-bocho was the nakiri-bocho ("vegetable cutting knife"). This is because the pre-Meiji era Japanese diet did not feature much meat, and thus the utility of a traditional western chef's knife was limited.
Western influences brought more meat into the Japan during the Meiji Restoration, leading to proliferation of western chef's knives, which were the knives of choice for slicing and disjointing large cuts of beef at the time. At this time, however, most ordinary Japanese families still did not each much meat. The nakiri-bocho was still king in the kitchen.
Post-war, during the Japanese "economic miracle", the average family began to incorporate more meat into their diet. This modification in eating habits created the demand for an easy to use knife that was likewise appropriate for cutting meat. Necessity, being the mother of invention, lead to the santoku-bocho, a happy medium between the stubby, rectangular and linearly edged nakiri-bocho and the long, pointed, and curved western chef's knife.
Japanese knives, the santoku included, usually have less belly (curvature of the blade) than western knives. This is because of a difference in cutting technique. Look on YouTube for videos of Japanese chefs cutting vegetables. You'll notice that they use a pushing motion rather than the rocking motion of western chefs.
The santoku-bocho is also sometimes mockingly referred to as a "housewife's knife" because that's who it was created for in the first place. It's reduced length and heft makes it easier to handle for a non-professional home cook in a typically cramped Japanese kitchen.
The santoku-bocho is also defined by its ubiquitousness. It can be had just about anywhere in Japan for prices ranging from 100 to 100,000 yen.
For an at-home cook trying to find one knife that will deal with the vast bulk of your kitchen area jobs with reasonable effectiveness, a santoku-bocho will do great. My mom has been utilizing a ceramic Kyocera santoku nearly daily for the past 15 years. If you see a great santoku-bocho for a good price, absolutely buy it if you do not have one currently.
About the Author:
There is a reason why Tokyo has more Michelin stars than Paris. The Japanese kitchen is a fascinating product of centuries of culinary heritage. If you want to learn more about Japanese and other Asian cooking supplies, recipes, and techniques, check out our blog at fareastcoastkitchen.com
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