White Truffles in Asia: Chefs Putting a Regional Spin on the Pricey Delicacy

These Death Conditions Produce a Chain Reaction of Responses in the Fish That the Ikejime Method Is Designed to Mitigate. Cortisol and Adrenaline Levels Rise Dramatically, as Do Breathing and Heart Rates as the Fish Tries to Desperately Move Oxygen That It Cannot Acquire Outside of Water. Core Temperature Increases as a Result. This Hyperactivity Leads to Tremendous Lactic Acid Build up in Muscle Tissue, Which Is Already Delicate to Start With.

The Ikejeme Method Explained

The First Step Is a Spike to the Head That Renders the Fish Immediately Brain-Dead So It Does Not Even Experience the Stress Associated with Being out of Water.

How Asia’s Best Female Chef Shoji Natsuko Poured Her Heart into Tokyo’s Été

Despite the Science Backing the Traditional Method That Has Put Japan at the Forefront of Pescatarian Cuisine, Adoption of Ikejime Elsewhere in the World Faces Obstacles.

Other Method of Ageing Fish

Asajime Is Similar to Hong Kong’s Method of Handling Local Fish, Which Is to Keep Them in a Tank Until They Are Bought or Required for Steaming in a Restaurant.

The ‘Rolls-Royce of Beef’: Why Is Wagyu So Popular in Hong Kong?

“Aging Fish Intensifies Flavour. Cooking Fish Also Intensifies Flavour Because It Drives Water Out, ” Tsui Explains. “Using the Iconic Steamed Grouper as an Example Then, Aging That Fish Before Steaming Would Certainly Result in an Enhanced Flavour, but the Mouthfeel Might Suck Because It’s Lost Too Much Water by That Point. Aging Therefore Creates a Culinary Tradeoff, Which Sometimes Ends up in No Cooking at All. ”

What Is Ikejime and Is It a Humane Way of Preparing Sushi? the Traditional Japanese Method of ‘Closing the Fish’ Ensures a Stress-Free Death, but Campaigners Say It’s Unnecessarily Cruel

By Robert Thorne

• Oct 8, 2026 • 6 min read

What Is Ikejime and Is It a Humane Way of Preparing Sushi? the Traditional Japanese Method of ‘Closing the Fish’ Ensures a Stress-Free Death, but Campaigners Say It’s Unnecessarily Cruel

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

One of the Techniques That Creates Viable Conditions for Ageing Is Known as Ikejime. the Technique, Which Means “Closing of the Fish” in Japanese, Was First Developed Some Two Centuries Ago in Edo, Now Tokyo, and Is Designed to Limit the Waves of Stress a Fish Experiences After Being Removed from the Water.

Robert Thorne

Automotive & Future Transportation Editor

Robert Thorne covers electric vehicle innovations, autonomous driving systems, global mobility trends, and automotive engineering developments.

Tags: what ikejime and it humane way preparing sushi traditional japanese method closing fish ensures