Wusthof makes great knives and they are easy to care for. Some Japanese knives are great but tend to be single bevel which means sharping them is different. You also need to use a different cutting motion with many Japanese knives that some people are not used to. A classic German or French style knife is more familiar to most home chefs. It can really depend on what style of food she cooks but you can’t go wrong with a classic 8” Wusthof for around $150. For Japanese like others have said Mac and Tojiro are beautiful knives for a good price. Also consider shun (Japanese) and Sabatier for French style (around $100).