Japan-wide — yakitori formalised in Meiji era; kushikatsu from Osaka (Shinsekai area)
Kushiyaki (串焼き, skewered grilling) is the broader category of Japanese skewer cooking that encompasses yakitori (chicken), kushikatsu/kushiage (breaded and deep-fried skewers from Osaka), and regional variants. The common element is that food is threaded onto thin bamboo or metal skewers and cooked over direct heat — charcoal (binchotan), gas, or wood fire. Yakitori (literally 'grilled bird') has developed into a sophisticated cuisine with dozens of specific chicken cuts (skin/kawa, cartilage/nankotsu, heart/hatsu, gizzard/sunagimo, neck/seseri, tail/bôchô, liver/kimo, knee cartilage, oyster/sori) each requiring different cooking times, temperatures, and sauce treatment. Kushikatsu (Osaka) applies the same skewer format to breaded-and-deep-fried preparations — pork, onion, shrimp, asparagus, quail egg, lotus root. A key Osaka kushikatsu rule is never double-dipping in the shared sauce.
Binchotan smoke and char create a distinctly Japanese grilled character — slightly smoky, caramelised tare with juicy meat or perfectly crisp skin; the brevity of cooking (seconds to minutes) preserves maximum natural flavour
Yakitori heat is intense and direct — binchotan at 700°C+ creates the characteristic char while preserving moisture; tare-yaki (with sauce, reapplied multiple times) requires higher heat tolerance than shio-yaki (salt only); salt-only yakitori shows the quality of the chicken most clearly — any off-flavour is immediately evident; skewer angle to the fire matters: fat-side toward heat for skin-on preparations; alternating lean and fat on multi-element skewers ensures even cooking.
The yakitori cut hierarchy in Tokyo: kawa (chicken skin, multiple basted with tare) is often called the benchmark of a yakitori restaurant — it requires precision temperature control to achieve maximum crispness without burning; momo (thigh) salt is the most versatile starting point; seseri (neck muscle, around 30 tiny muscles) has extraordinary flavour for a little-known cut; Torishiki in Meguro, Tokyo is widely considered Japan's greatest yakitori restaurant; for home yakitori: a dedicated yakitori grill (yakitoriki) or a simple charcoal grill setup with good binchotan produces authentic results.
Using wet bamboo skewers that steam rather than sear the food (soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes, then pat dry — damp but not wet); over-caramelising tare to the point of burning (yakitori tare burns easily at yakitori temperatures — multiple thin coatings rather than one thick coating); under-resting yakitori between grill time and serving (30 seconds rest allows juices to redistribute); cooking all cuts at identical temperatures (lean cuts need different heat than fatty cuts).
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art — Shizuo Tsuji