Tosa Hamono Ryutsu Centre Shouga-bocho 60mm Shirogami #2

Well here's a fact we didn't know. Kochi Prefecture is not only host to a thriving metalworking culture and industry (Tosa is in Kochi), it's also ginger central! Home to forty percent of the country's ginger production, apparently. Crucial for the country's cuisine. And this cute little cutter is where the two industries meet. Behold, the shouga-bocho! (In case it hasn't clicked, shouga is ginger in Japanese.)

Short, and beautifully conceived. Plenty sharp, plenty of knuckle room, in hand it has all the comfort of a full size knife. Forget cabbage though, you'd need something longer for that.

But when it comes to the cutting tasks that suit it you wouldn't want to be using anything else. Roots, rhizomes, bulbs and tubers, delicate fish, plastic wrap, you name it. Ours is a favorite for cross-cut sunchokes, ginger and burdock. And it's lovely for slicing strawberries. 

Naturally its uses are limited. Yes, it is short. Yes, it's very useful, and kind of fun.