Cletus' First Collegiate Dictionary of Japanese Chin Music
toro
The fatty flesh of tuna. Often caught in nets off the coast of Chile, pulled aboard and spiked in the brain, then laid out on a grass mat or blanket so the two-hundred-kilogram fish won’t bruise. The bluefin is then refrigerated and flown to Tokyo. Once it arrives, the fish is lined up with its compatriots on the cold concrete at Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish market, at about three in the morning. Potential buyers begin to check the tuna around four. They use a flashlight and sharp little hooks to cut open the tuna near its tail and check the marbling and color of the flesh. Around half-past five, the auction begins. If the tuna is good quality, it will bring around ten-thousand yen a kilogram. Once the fish is bought, the buyers will paint a number or symbol on it and later cart it off to a restaurant or market.