Nakiri: Japanese vegetable knife

A Nakiri is a Japanese vegetable knife. Its blade is straight at the bottom and has a lot of contact with the cutting board, allowing it to cut cleanly and without rocking through vegetables.

Even long vegetables can be cut lengthwise without the blade slipping. For fine, straight cuts through onions, herbs, or root vegetables, the Nakiri is the most precise shape. At ISSHO TABERU, it comes from the Izutsuki line with the hardest steels in the range.

The Nishigata is the rectangular, classic variant for quiet, straight cuts, while the Nakiri Kamagata adds a more precise tip to the vegetable knife. Both are made with blue Yasugi paper steel at 66 HRC, forged in the Echizen tradition by Toshiki Nanbu. As carbon steel knives, they require some care.