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1
Inspect each fish: the eyes must be clear and bright, the skin iridescent blue-green, the flesh firm, and the fish free of any sharp fishy odour. Do not remove the innards. Pat the skin dry with a clean cloth. Apply fine salt lightly and evenly along the body of each fish. Apply coarse salt generously to the fins and tail of each fish (enshio): the extremities should carry a visible white crust. Thread a skewer through each fish from just behind the jaw, running it through the body and out near the tail, so that the fish holds a gentle wave-shape — head and tail raised, body arched. The fish is ready for the grill when the salt crust on the fins is dry and adhered.
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2
This is where the dish lives or dies. Build the charcoal to a fierce, direct heat — the grill surface must be hot enough to char the skin on contact. Lay the skewered fish over the coals. Grill with high, aggressive, uninterrupted heat: do not lower the flame or move the fish prematurely. The skin must blister and char; the rendered fat will spit and smoke with a fragrant sizzle. Turn once. The head and tail will blacken completely — this is correct and desired. Grill until the skin between head and tail is charred and blistered on both sides, the fat has visibly rendered and caramelised beneath the skin, and the fish releases cleanly from the grill without tearing.
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3
Remove the fish from the skewers. Grate the daikon freshly and allow it to remain cool; do not season it. Arrange each whole fish on a plate — the blackened head and tail flanking the charred, blistered body. Place a mound of daikon oroshi beside the fish and a wedge of sudachi or lemon on the plate. Offer soy sauce at table. The fish is served whole: the belly side, with its concentration of rendered fat, is the richest portion and should not be left. The bitter innards (kimo) are an intrinsic element of the eating. The dish is correct when the cool, clean pungency of the daikon meets the intense fatty richness of the fish on the palate.