【Reading】ぼうぜ

【English Name】Japanese Butterfish

Bouze is a local name in Tokushima Prefecture for the Japanese butterfish (ibodai), a white-fleshed fish belonging to the family Centrolophidae in the order Scombriformes. It is widely distributed along warm coastal areas of East Asia, and within Japan it is often found along the Pacific coast and in the East China Sea, south of the Oga Peninsula and Matsushima Bay.

Its body is oval and laterally compressed, and the brown spot near the gill cover on its silver-gray body surface is striking. Likening this marking to the scar of a moxibustion (kyu) is said to be the origin of the name ibodai. Adults grow to about 30 cm in body length, but those that reach the market are mostly around 20 cm. As juveniles they are known to hide near the tentacles of jellyfish to avoid predators.

The season runs from summer to autumn at its peak. Despite a light flavor, it carries fat well, and owing to its bones separating cleanly from the flesh it has been prized in western Japan since old times. It has a wide cooking range, from salt-grilling and simmering to sashimi and dried fish.

In Tokushima Prefecture, bouze no sugatazushi, in which a back-split bouze wraps vinegared rice, is handed down as a local delicacy. As a sushi topping, the way of searing the skin side and forming it into nigiri is also favored.