Chefs offer thanks to kitchen tools at shrine

Japanese chefs have offered thanks for the tools of their trade in a ceremony at a Shinto shrine in Nikko, north of Tokyo.

About 80 professional masters of Japanese cuisine gathered for the annual ritual dedicated to kitchen knives and cutting boards at Futarasan Shrine on Wednesday.

After a Shinto priest offered up a prayer, one of the masters in chef's whites prepared a carp using skills that date back more than 1,000 years.

The chef used a 30-centimeter knife and a pair of 50-centimeter metal chopsticks to skin and cut up the fish without directly touching it.

Visitors looked on as he demonstrated his skills before offering the fish at the shrine's altar.