Sashimi bōchō

The tako hiki (タコ引, tako hiki ^? lit. octopus separator), yanagi ba (柳刃< span class="t_nihongo_comma" style="display:none">, yanagi ba^? lit. willow blade), and fugu hiki (ふぐ引き, lit. blowfish separator^?) are long, thin knives used in Japanese cuisine, also called sashimi bocho (刺身包丁, sashimi bocho^?) used to prepare sashimi and cut fish and shellfish into slices.

Similar to nakiri bōchō, the style differs little between Tokyo and Osaka. In Osaka, the yanagi ba is pointed at the end, while in Tokyo the tako hiki is rectangular. tako hiki is commonly used to prepare octopus. A fugu hiki is similar to a yanagi ba, except that the blade is thinner and more flexible. As the name suggests, the fugu hiki is traditionally used to finely slice fugu for sashimi.

The length of the knife makes it suitable for medium-sized fish. For larger fish like tuna there are specialized knives: for example, the oroshi hōchō, almost two meters long, or the slightly shorter hancho hocho.