The yanagiba: Japan's sashimi knife

What is a yanagiba?

A yanagiba (柳刃, "willow blade") is the traditional Japanese slicer for raw fish. It's long (240–330 mm, with 270 mm the common size), slender, and ground on one side only with a flat, subtly hollowed back. That single bevel lets it take an extraordinarily keen, acute edge — exactly what slicing delicate raw fish demands.

The pointed style is the Kansai (Osaka) form; the Kanto (Tokyo) version, with a squared-off tip, is called a takohiki (also written takobiki). Either way, this is a knife built for one job — turning a fillet into clean, glossy slices — not a general kitchen blade.

Anatomy of a yanagiba

A yanagiba is built differently from a Western knife, and the parts explain how it cuts. Looking at a right-handed blade:

• Kireha (切刃) — the single bevel. The wide, flat bevel on the front (right-hand) face, running the full length of the blade. It is much wider than the small edge bevel on a Western knife, which is what gives the yanagiba its acute, keen edge. On traditional clad blades, the softer iron cladding and the hard steel core are often visible here as two tones.
• Shinogi (鎬) — the ridge line. The crisp line where the kireha meets the flat upper face of the blade (the shinogi-ji). A straight, even shinogi is commonly treated as a sign of careful grinding, and it is the reference you follow when sharpening the bevel.
• Urasuki (裏すき) — the hollow back. The back (left-hand) face is not truly flat: it is ground slightly concave. Only a narrow rim touches a flat surface.
• Ura-oshi (裏押し) — the flat rim. That narrow, flat band around the edge and spine of the back. It is the only part of the back you touch on the stone, just enough to remove the burr.
• Kissaki (切先) — the tip. The spine curves gently down to meet the edge in a fine point. The point is used for detail work — scoring, finishing a cut, lifting a slice — but it is thin and can snap if you pry with it.

Why the hollow back matters. The concave urasuki reduces the area of steel in contact with the fish, so slices tend to fall away from the blade instead of clinging to it. It also makes maintenance practical: because only the ura-oshi rim touches the stone, you can keep the back flat without grinding the whole face. See every part named in our Japanese knife anatomy guide, and how one-sided grinds behave in single bevel vs double bevel.

How it cuts: one long pull

The whole point of a yanagiba is to slice in a single, smooth pulling stroke — drawing the full length of the blade through the fish rather than sawing back and forth. A sawing motion tears the flesh and dulls the surface; one clean pull leaves a glossy, undamaged cut face that catches the light and tastes cleaner. That's why the blade is so long: you want to finish the slice before you run out of edge.

It rewards a light touch and a very sharp edge. What it won't do is chop, dice or handle anything but boneless fish — for that, reach for a gyuto. The grip, the fish and the two classic cuts — hira-zukuri (straight, thick slices) and sogi-zukuri (thin, angled slices) — are covered step by step in how to slice sashimi.

Yanagiba sizes: which length?

The rule is simple: a longer blade lets you finish a larger slice in one pull. Yanagiba are commonly made from about 240 mm to 330 mm (shorter and longer blades exist), and these four lengths are the usual choices:

Lengths are measured along the edge, heel to tip, not including the handle. A longer knife also needs a longer board — a 300 mm blade on a small board is awkward. For a home kitchen, 240–270 mm covers almost everyone; our knife size guide has conversions for every length.

Yanagiba vs sujihiki

If the single-bevel commitment sounds like a lot, the sujihiki is the easier alternative — a long, double-bevel Western-style slicer. It works in either hand, sharpens like any double-bevel knife, and slices cooked meat and roasts as well as fish.

Choose the sujihiki for an easy, versatile slicer; choose the yanagiba for traditional sashimi work and the cleanest possible cut.

Yanagiba vs takohiki vs fugubiki

The yanagiba is one of three traditional single-bevel sashimi knives. All three slice raw fish with a long pull; they differ in tip shape, blade build and the job they were refined for.

The takohiki name means roughly "octopus puller", but it is a general sashimi knife, and octopus (tako) sashimi is sliced with the same long pull on either knife — a yanagiba handles it fine. The fugubiki is a narrow specialist for the translucent, very thin slices of fugu. For a first sashimi knife, the yanagiba is the practical choice: it is the easiest to find, especially left-handed, and the pointed tip adds versatility.

How to choose a yanagiba

• Hand first. A single-bevel knife is made for one hand. Most yanagiba are right-handed; left-handed versions are made separately as mirror images, usually in smaller numbers. Don't buy the wrong hand and hope to adapt — see left-handed Japanese knives.
• Steel. The traditional choice is carbon steel — Shirogami (white) or Aogami (blue) — clad in softer iron. It takes a very keen edge but rusts if left wet. Stainless options such as Ginsan (silver-3) or VG10 trade a little of that traditional feel for much easier care. Compare them in the steel chart.
• Kasumi or honyaki. Most yanagiba are kasumi: a hard steel edge forge-welded to a soft iron body, which is more forgiving and easier to sharpen. Honyaki blades are made from one piece of hard steel, differentially hardened; they are harder to make, typically far more expensive and less forgiving of mistakes. See honyaki vs kasumi.
• Handle. Yanagiba almost always have a wooden wa handle, usually octagonal or D-shaped. An octagonal handle suits either hand; a D-shaped handle is itself handed, so it must match the blade. More in wa vs yo handles.
• Length. 270 mm for most home cooks, 240 mm for small boards, 300 mm and up for professional work (see sizes above).
• Budget. Prices span a wide range. Mass-produced stainless yanagiba cost far less than hand-forged carbon ones, and honyaki sit at the top. Extra money mostly buys finer grinding, a straighter shinogi and a flatter, better-shaped urasuki — which matter more than decorative finishes.

What a yanagiba is for — and what it isn't

The thin, hard edge can chip on bone or frozen food, and single-bevel geometry steers in dense vegetables. Breaking a whole fish into fillets is the job of the deba; the yanagiba takes over once the fillet is boneless. For cooked meat and roasts, the double-bevel sujihiki is the better slicer.

Single bevel, care & sharpening

Yanagiba are often made from reactive carbon steels (white or blue), so treat them like any carbon knife — wipe dry, welcome the patina, keep them out of the sink. Sharpening is different from a double-bevel knife: you work the single bevel, then take the wire edge off the flat back with a light touch (the uraoshi). If you're new to it, read single vs double bevel first.

Do you need a yanagiba?

The bottom line

A yanagiba does one thing better than any other knife: slice raw fish, cleanly, in a single pull. If that's a thing you do, it's a joy. If it isn't, it'll live in the drawer.

Treat it as a considered specialist bought alongside an everyday knife — never as a first purchase. For that, start with a gyuto or santoku.

Frequently asked questions