Kure Port, Kochi — The Lure of Katsuo

Overview

Katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes) are one of the key ingredients in Japanese cuisine, for preparing dashi stock. They are made from the large migratory fish known in Japanese as katsuo and in English as skipjack tuna or bonito. Fishing communities in Tosa Bay, on the Pacific coast of Kochi Prefecture, continue to use the traditional rod-and-line method to catch the fish. On this edition of Journeys in Japan, Jonathan Senior explores the port town of Kure, where he tastes the finest fresh katsuo and meets the people for whom the fish is their life and their livelihood.