ikejime; draining blood from a live fish to preserve freshness
Only with reading いけじめ
A specific technique where blood is drained from a live fish by cutting near the gills and tail, then often placing it in ice water. Primarily read いけじめ.
fasting fish before transport; purging fish to improve quality
The practice of keeping fish without food for several days to empty their digestive tracts, improving flavor and reducing stress during live transport. Often read いけしめ.
killing fish in a tank just before cooking; tank-killed fish
Refers to killing fish kept in a tank immediately before preparation, or the fish itself. Often read いけしめ. Common in restaurant settings.
Fish that has been ikejime-processed is exceptional as sashimi.
The fisherman immediately performs ikejime on the caught fish.
For ikejime, the fish are fasted for several days before shipping.
They perform ikejime in the tank right before cooking.
This restaurant prides itself on tank-killed sea bream.
Standard kanji spelling for the fish-killing technique.
Irregular okurigana variant; less common but still seen.
Abbreviated irregular okurigana form; rarely used.
Irregular kanji usage with 〆; occasionally seen in restaurant contexts.
Irregular kanji usage with 〆; occasionally seen in restaurant contexts.
Formed from 活け, “kept alive,” and 締め, “killing or dispatching.” Compound voicing gives the usual reading いけじめ, while いけしめ preserves unvoiced しめ.