【Reading】たかべ

【English Name】Yellow Striped Butterfish

Takabe (yellowstriped butterfish) is a saltwater fish endemic to Japan, inhabiting the coastal waters on the Pacific side from Honshu to Kyushu. Its scientific name is Labracoglossa argenteiventris, described by Peters in 1866.

Adults are about 20 to 30 cm in body length. With a spindle-shaped build, the back is bluish-tinged and the belly silvery white. Its greatest feature is a vivid yellow band pattern running from the middle of the back to the tail. It has a small mouth and lives in schools near rocky reefs, feeding on zooplankton.

Its Japanese name is said to derive from "taka," a fisherman's word for a rocky reef, and the suffix "be," meaning fish. In haiku it is also a seasonal word (kigo) for summer.

Its season is the summer, which overlaps with the spawning period, a time when it takes on fat and its flavor increases. The main fishing method is set nets, and what reaches the Kanto market is mainly from the Izu Islands. In the market it is treated as a high-grade fish.

As for how to eat it, salt-grilling is considered the standard, and it also suits sashimi, simmering, and one-night drying (ichiya-boshi). A fish similar in appearance is the umeiro (of the family Lutjanidae), but the umeiro is larger at about 40 cm in body length and can be distinguished by the absence of yellow on its dorsal and anal fins.