Gallery: Tsukiji 2004-06
Slicing the Fresh Tuna
Fresh tuna is too expensive (and too bloody) to bandsaw. It is sliced with an enormous 8 foot (2 meter) Japanese knife. The man on the right with the lime green towel on his head is actually holding the other end of the blade in his left hand (with a towel around it protecting him). The blade is razor sharp and cuts through the fish like butter. It puts the Hattori Hanzo (fictional) sword in Kill Bill to shame.
After slicing the fish, they cut it into smaller and smaller portions. You can see the handle of the arge sword in the middle of the photograph.
Note how it is has cut smoothly through the skeletal structure of the tuna, revealing its ribs. Strips of white fat are also visible, indicating this is the highest quality tuna sashimi possible. Yum.
After it has been sliced up, it is almost ready for sale. The smaller chunks to the left here are ideal for a small mom and pop sushi restaurant. The chefs (dads) visit Tsukiji each morning and buy from these stalls. They do not go to the auction itself because 1) they do not have a license; 2) they could not possible sell an entire fish before it went bad; and 3) it's hard to bring a big fish like that into the subway car with you.
This is another view of the giant sword/knife they use to slice the fresh tuna along with some other implements.
If you want one of your very own, there is a cutlery store that is one of the stalls in Tsukiji. I was too chicken to ask what the giant sword might cost.
I would like to get a grappling hook, however. I think it would come in handy the next time I'm trying to squeeze into the train during rush hour. Yank someone out and pop myself in.
Traditional Japanese knives are made using the same technology that made Japanese swords. Softer malleable steel is used to back a high-carbon, very sharp edge. These knives are very labor-intensive to make. They're also a bit more difficult to sharpen.
I use Japanese chisels in my woodworking, same principle and also a bit of a pain to sharpen. I have to remember to get some Japanese waterstones to bring back to Minneota with me.
