1.
kitchen (in a Japanese-style restaurant)
The kitchen area of a traditional Japanese restaurant where food is prepared. Named after the wooden boards (板) used in the workspace.
板場で魚をさばく。
To fillet fish in the kitchen.
板場は忙しい時間帯に入ってはいけない。
You must not enter the kitchen during busy hours.
彼は若くして板場を任されている。
Despite his youth, he has been entrusted with the kitchen.
修業時代は板場の下働きから始めた。
During his apprenticeship, he started from the bottom in the kitchen.
2.
chef, cook (in a Japanese restaurant)
By extension, refers to the person who works in the kitchen — the chef or cook of a Japanese restaurant.
この店の板場は二十年の経験を持つベテランだ。
The chef at this restaurant is a veteran with twenty years of experience.
彼は若くして板場を任されている。
Despite his youth, he has been entrusted with the kitchen.
あの料亭の板場さんは腕がいい。
The chef at that traditional restaurant is very skilled.
Specifically associated with traditional Japanese cuisine (和食) and Japanese-style restaurants. Not used for Western-style kitchens.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 板場に立つ: to stand in the kitchen (i.e., to work as a chef)
- 板場を任される: to be entrusted with the kitchen
- 板場さん: the chef (colloquial, respectful)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 台所 / キッチン: kitchen — general terms for any kitchen
- 厨房: kitchen (professional) — used for restaurant kitchens of any cuisine
- 板前: Japanese cuisine chef — refers specifically to the person, more common than 板場 in sense 2
- 料理人: cook, chef — general term for any professional cook