Katsuobushi – the Dried Bonito of Makurazaki City

Katsuobushi (鰹節,dried Bonito) is a crucial ingredient of the “dashi” broth – essence of traditional Japanese cuisine, and the port town of Makurazaki in Kagoshima has been the top producer of Katsuobushi in Japan for the past twenty years. Frozen Bonito fish (caught in the ocean) are being transported to Makurazaki, where they are thawed, cut, boiled, deboned, smoked, and aged to produce the famed Katsuobushi. The whole process takes more than six months to complete.