{"id":4165,"date":"2023-03-20T09:44:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T00:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/?p=4165"},"modified":"2025-04-28T09:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T00:50:51","slug":"what-is-akanishigai-konaganishi-sushi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/what-is-akanishigai-konaganishi-sushi\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Akanishigai (Konaganishi) sushi?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is Aka-nishi (Top shell) nigiri sushi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is Akanishigai?<\/h3>\n

There are three typical types of shellfish called Akanishigai: Naganishi (\u9577\u8f9b\u87ba\u3001\u9999\u87ba\u3001\u9577\u87ba), Konaganishi (\u5c0f\u9577\u8f9b\u87ba), and Akanishi (\u7d05\u87ba).<\/p>\n

Yonakigai (\u591c\u6ce3\u8c9d), enthusiastically favored in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures, is the Naganishi (Fusinus perplexus (A.Adams,1864)) caught in the Seto Inland Sea. It is no longer caught in large quantities, and Konaganishi (Fusinus ferrugineus Kuroda & Habe,1961) from the Sea of Japan is used as a substitute. This shellfish is a smaller version of the Naganishi, and has a unique astringent taste in its entrails.<\/p>\n

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The appearnace of Akanishi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Akanishi (Top shell) is a carnivorous shell commonly found in tidal flats of inner bays in Japan, and in the Kanto region, it is a natural enemy of oysters and clams rather than a target for fishing. Its flesh is softer than that of the turban shell (Sazae)<\/a><\/span>, and some say it is tastier. In recent years, large quantities of frozen top shell has been imported cheaply from Turkey and Bulgaria, which face the Black Sea, so when you hear “Akanishigai (\u8d64\u897f\u8c9d)” at conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you are probably talking about this. Aka-nishi-gai is considered an invasive alien species in the local market.<\/p>\n

What does Akanishigai (Konaganishi) sushi taste like?<\/h3>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Konaganishi is a member of the family Fasciolariidae that inhabits the Sea of Japan from Mutsu Bay to Kyushu, where it grows to a shell length of about 8 cm. The standard Japanese name Ko (ko means \u201csmall\u201d) naganishi was given because it resembles Naganishi but is smaller in size.<\/p>\n

In Ishikawa Prefecture, it is caught in Nanao Bay (\u4e03\u5c3e\u6e7e) and is often used in sushi toppings. Its season is from September to November. The color of this shellfish is bright red, which is derived from its name. The texture is chewy and the aroma of the sea fills the mouth, and at Nigiri sushi, it is served in Gunkan maki, which some tourists come for. In Nanao, Ko-naganishi is called Aka-nishi-gai (\u8d64\u897f\u8c9d<\/a><\/span>) instead of the standard Japanese name Aka-nishi (Rapana venosa (Valenciennes,1846)), which is a little confusing at times.<\/p>\n

There is an anecdote that when Emperor Showa ate Konagashi at Wakura Onsen, he found it so delicious that he asked for seconds. At the Kagaya where he stayed, it is known by the alternative name \u201cOkawarikai (Another serving please)\u201d.<\/p>\n

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We hope this information will be helpful.<\/p>\n

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Revision date: April 28, 2025<\/p>\n

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What is Akanishigai? There are three typical types of shellfish called Akanishigai: Naganishi (\u9577\u8f9b\u87ba\u3001\u9999\u87ba\u3001\u9577\u87ba), Konaganishi (\u5c0f\u9577\u8f9b\u87ba), and Akanishi (\u7d05\u87ba). Yonakigai (\u591c\u6ce3\u8c9d), enthusiastically favored in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures, is the Naganishi (Fusinus perplexus (A.Adams,1864)) caught in the Seto Inland Sea. It is no longer caught in large quantities, and Konaganishi (Fusinus ferrugineus Kuroda & Habe,1961) from the Sea of Japan is used as a substitute. This shellfish is a smaller version of the Naganishi, and has a unique astringent taste in its entrails. Akanishi (Top shell) is a carnivorous shell commonly found in tidal flats of inner bays in Japan, and in the Kanto region, it is a natural enemy … Continue reading What is Akanishigai (Konaganishi) sushi?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[133,14,149],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4165"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6368,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165\/revisions\/6368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sushiuniversity.jp\/sushiblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}