Sashimi (刺身) is raw fish — but calling it merely ‘raw fish’ misses the point: it is one of the most technically demanding dishes in Japanese cuisine, where the quality of the cut, the freshness of the fish, and the presentation all converge to showcase a single ingredient at its peak.
Sashimi is thinly or thickly sliced raw fish, seafood, or meat served without rice. Common types: マグロ (maguro, bluefin tuna), サーモン (salmon), ヒラメ (hirame, flounder), タコ (tako, octopus), イカ (ika, squid), ホタテ (hotate, scallop), and ウニ (uni, sea urchin). Sashimi is served with 醤油 (shoyu, soy sauce) and wasabi (わさび, Japanese horseradish) for dipping, and accompanied by つま (tsuma, shredded daikon radish) and shiso leaves as garnish. The cut matters: 平造り (hirazukuri, flat cut), 糸造り (itozukuri, thin strips), and 薄造り (usuzukuri, paper-thin — used for delicate white fish) each bring out different textures.
8″>The wasabi served atわさびst restaurants outside Japan is fake — it isわさびmixture of horseradish and food coloring. Real wasabi (本わさび, hon-wasabi) is freshly grated from the 山葵 (wasabi) plant root and is lighter, more complex, and less harsh. At high-end sushi and sashimi restaurants in Japan, hon-wasabi is grated tableside on a sharkskin grater (鮫皮おろし, samegawa oroshi). Another key: when eating sashimi, dip the fish into soy sauce — don’t pour soy sauce over the fish, which dilutes and drowns the flavor.
刺身 uses 刺 (sashi, to pierce/stab/a thorn) and 身 (mi, body/flesh). The 刺 character reflects the piercing motion of the knife through flesh. 刺 appears in 刺激 (shigeki, stimulus), 名刺 (meishi, business card). 身 appears in 身体 (karada/shintai, body), 中身 (nakami, contents/what’s inside). The combination: the pierced/cut flesh — direct and visceral in a way that matches the dish.
EXAMPLE 1
市場直送のヒラメの刺身は、弾力と甘みが格別だった。
Ichiba chokusou no hirame no sashimi wa, danryoku to amami ga kakubetsu datta.
The sashimi from flounder delivered directly from the market was exceptional — the texture and sweetness were in a class of their own.
EXAMPLE 2
お刺身の盛り合わせを注文したら、マグロ、サーモン、タコ、ホタテの四種類が出てきた。
O-sashimi no moriawase wo chuumon shitara, maguro, saamon, tako, hotate no yonshurui ga dete kita.
I ordered the assorted sashimi platter and got four types: tuna, salmon, octopus, and scallop.
EXAMPLE 3
本わさびをリアルタイムで鮫皮おろしで擦るのを初めて見て、その細かい仕事に驚いた。
Hon-wasabi wo riaru-taimu de samegawa-oroshi de suru no wo hajimete mite, sono komakai shigoto ni odoroita.
Seeing real wasabi grated tableside on a sharkskin grater for the first time, I was struck by the meticulous craft.
Sashimi is an ancient Japanese dish predating sushi — raw fish was eaten in Japan long before vinegared rice was paired with it. The word itself first appears in Japanese texts from the Muromachi period (14th-16th century). The practice of eating raw fish was culturally specific to Japan in East Asia — Chinese and Korean food traditions generally cook fish. Japan’s access to fresh seafood, combined with Buddhist dietary restrictions that limited meat consumption for centuries, made fish and seafood the primary protein and raw consumption a natural development.
Sashimi-grade fish (刺身用, sashimi-you) must meet strict freshness standards — in Japan, certain fish intended for raw consumption must be frozen before sale to kill parasites (particularly important for salmon). The concept of ikejime (活け締め, spiking the brain of a live fish to prevent muscle stress before death) is a Japanese technique for maximizing sashimi quality by reducing lactic acid buildup. Premium sashimi at high-end restaurants reflects these techniques: the fish was alive hours or minutes before serving, and the way it was killed directly affects the texture the customer experiences.
Disclosure: This site may contain affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.