Urokotori

A urokotori (Japanese: 鱗取 or うろことり, literally: Scale Remover) is a utensil used in Japanese cuisine to remove the scales from the skin of fish before cooking. Alternatively, it is possible to remove the scales with a knife, but this is more difficult and there is a higher risk of cutting the skin of the fish, especially with small fishes; knife-scaling also risks cutting one's own hand. The urokotori is pulled across the skin of the fish from the tail to the head repeatedly to remove the scales.

Two urokotori of slightly different sizes