Protected local food
Makurazaki Katsuobushi
枕崎鰹節
Smoked, dried bonito from Makurazaki in Kagoshima, a food with more than 300 years of history here. Makurazaki makes more katsuobushi than anywhere else in Japan.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 18 March 2025
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 枕崎鰹節
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 鹿児島県枕崎市
Japan's katsuobushi town
Katsuobushi is bonito that is simmered, smoked and dried until hard, then shaved into flakes for dashi stock and toppings. Kagoshima's Makurazaki makes more of it than anywhere else in Japan, has a history of more than 300 years, and has won many top prizes at the national katsuobushi show.
Why Makurazaki
Good bonito swims past on the Kuroshio current, the town is surrounded by hills with good water, and oak and sawtooth oak firewood for smoking is close at hand. With support from the Satsuma domain, Makurazaki was already in the Edo-period rankings of katsuobushi makers. From the Meiji era, bigger boats made it a base for deep-sea bonito fishing.
Good to know
- Katsuobushi gives Japanese dashi its smoky depth; freshly shaved flakes on rice or tofu are a simple way to taste it.
- Bags of flakes keep well and make a light souvenir.
Questions travellers ask
What is katsuobushi?
Bonito fish that is simmered, smoked and dried, then shaved into flakes, mainly for dashi stock.
Where is Makurazaki?
A port town on the southwest coast of the Satsuma Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.