nakiri

Nakiri is a Japanese term that can refer to both a surname and a traditional kitchen knife used for vegetables. The name itself is commonly found in Japan, and in popular culture it appears as a family name for fictional characters, notably Erina Nakiri from the manga and anime series Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars!).

As a surname, Nakiri is of Japanese origin and may be encountered in various contexts within Japanese media and society. It is not tied to a single famous real-world individual, but it appears in fiction and contemporary accounts as a family name.

Nakiri bocho, or nakiri knife, is a Japanese vegetable knife characterized by a straight, rectangular blade with a squared-off tip. Typical blade lengths range from about 180 to 210 millimeters, designed to produce clean, straight cuts on vegetables. The flat edge allows the knife to stay in full contact with the cutting board, enabling precise chops and uniform slices. The nakiri is closely associated with other traditional vegetable knives such as usuba, though it is generally designed to be double-beveled in modern versions, making it more accessible to many home cooks compared with single-beveled usuba blades. Its primary use is slicing, dicing, and chopping various vegetables with an emphasis on maintaining texture and shape.

Care and usage involve keeping the edge sharp, washing by hand, and storing properly to prevent nicks. Many professional and home kitchens use nakiri knives for everyday vegetable preparation due to their efficiency and ease of control.