Japanese Kitchen Knives Guide

====================================================
Japanese Kitchen Knives Guide
====================================================
■Basics on kitchen knives

■■Types of knives used in Japan

There are roughly three different types of knives used in Japan: traditional Japanese, western and Chinese knives.

■■Characteristics of traditional Japanese knives

The reason for having a variety of Japanese knives is related to the culture of Japanese food.
In Japanese cuisine a strong emphasis is put on esthetics rather than simply chopping fish or vegetables in to smaller pieces, so each style of knives was tried and developed to efficiently and effectively for cooking.
Moreover, because the specific size of a knife is selected depending on the size of the foods, there are a variety of sizes as well as different style s of Japanese knives.
Some main styles are Deba, Yanagiba, and Usuba.
It contributes the tradition of Japanese cuisine that the appearance of the cut ingredients plays a critical role.

■■Characteristics of western knives

Western style kitchen knives are commonly used in Japan now. They were introduced to Japan after the Meiji period from overseas, and have gradually spread across the country. The most popular style is Gyuto. A long time ago, it was unusual for Japanese to cook meat, so Nakiri and Deba were the common knives used in Japanese home kitchens. Because meat became more incorporated into the people's food, knives also evolved to adjust of Japanese lifestyle change. 

Actually, most of Japanese have Gyuto, Petty and Santoku at home, but it's special to have Nakiri and Deba at home expect people who like cooking fish.
In other words, Gyuto, Petty and Santoku are very useful and cost performance is very high.