Do you know why Japanese people don't eat mutton? Next, I will explain it to you!

When it comes to delicious food from Japan, I believe many people will think of sushi, Guandong cooking, sashimi, Japanese fried pork chops, and so on, and there are many kinds. But I don't know if you have noticed a detail, that is, Japanese people don't seem to eat mutton very much. When it comes to eating meat, the Japanese may give people the impression that it is the most expensive and delicious Kobe beef in the world. But as long as you mention mutton, you don't remember much. In fact, not only did Japan not eat much mutton, but the history of eating pork and beef was only about 15 years. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had a history of "banning meat" for 12 years.

Primitive Man Who Loved Meat

In the Saskatchewan era (15,-2,3 years ago), Japanese society was still in the early Neolithic period, and hunting was the main way of life. At that time, it was very good to fill the stomach and was not picky about prey. According to archaeological excavations, at that time, the main meat products in Japan were elk and wild boar, as well as more than 6 kinds of mammals such as bears, monkeys and foxes. At that time, the main means was raw food, and it was only later that the practice of roasting and cooking came into being. In the Yayoi period (3 BC-25 AD), farming techniques from the Korean peninsula were introduced to the islands, and Japan entered an era in which rice was the main ingredient.

With the introduction of iron Niu Geng and other technologies, there was also animal husbandry technology. During this period, horses, cows, sheep and other livestock came to Japan, but the development of animal husbandry was not good. Cattle were raised to plow the fields and horses were raised as load, but sheep had no specific use, so that most Japanese people had never seen sheep, and even thought that sheep and dragons were virtual animals in the zodiac.

Get rid of the old and learn from the new, and don't eat meat

"No meat" is closely related to the introduction of Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the middle of the 6th century. At that time, monks observed the "Five Commandments", so not eating meat became a common knowledge. Japan's original Shintoism also thinks that blood is dirty, killing is unclean, and playthings are homogeneous, which is in line with Buddhist thought, which laid the ideological foundation for Japan's ban on meat.

In 676, Emperor Tianwu issued the Prohibition Order on Killing Animals, which prohibited killing animals and eating meat, thus starting the meat ban era in Japan for more than 1,2 years. Although the results were not good at first, after Emperor Shengwu issued imperial edicts twice in 737 and 743 to stop killing, meat basically disappeared on the table of the upper-middle class or nobles, and eating meat was also considered a reckless and tyrannical behavior, so the breeding of meat and livestock was almost zero.

In the late period of heian period (86 -1185), the military class rose, abandoned the traditional red tape of officials and nobles, and did not observe the ban on "meat prohibition". Although there were no livestock to eat, they could enjoy delicious food through hunting. However, when the military class ascended the throne of the ruler, the early brave and generous temperament was gradually infiltrated by the exquisite culture of the ministers, and the warriors also learned not to eat meat. By the Muromachi era (1336 -1573), meat had basically faded out of the recipes of the Takeshi family.

prefer cattle to sheep

The ban on "banning meat" greatly impressed the height of Japan. According to archaeological data, before the meat ban, the average height of Japanese adult men was 163cm, but it was reduced to 155cm in the Edo era more than a thousand years later. Influenced by the beautiful European wind and rain, Meiji authorities thought that westerners were tall because they ate beef and drank milk, so they abandoned the meat prohibition order and initially advocated people to eat meat, especially beef. However, the history of banning meat for more than 12 years made the Japanese people feel bad about the foul smell of meat. In the end, it was Emperor Meiji who personally tried beef and reported it to the whole country, which made the people change their attitude towards meat. At the same time, the royal family's large-scale pioneering was used as a livestock farm and a dairy farm, and beef was also designated as the diet of the army. The beef hot pot-Shouxi Roast (すき?き) began to appear in the streets and lanes of metropolis, and Kobe beef has always been a substitute for top beef.

But mutton is not as popular as beef. Although goats and sheep entered Japan very early, the ban on meat hindered the development of livestock industry to a great extent, and the weather in Japan was not suitable for large-scale sheep herding. After Meiji, the strong fishy smell of mutton discouraged the Japanese people who only opened the meat ban. Although there was mutton soup in ancient Japan, it soon changed its practice and became a jelly-like dessert by mixing red beans and flour.

Domineering mutton burning-Genghis Khan

There is only one place in Japan to eat mutton, and that is Hokkaido. Japan sells tens of thousands of tons of mutton every year, more than half of which is in Hokkaido. There is a local dish called "ジンギスカン", which means "Genghis Khan" barbecue in Chinese, that is, roast mutton in an iron pan, which is said to have been left by Mongolia when it invaded Japan.

when it comes to the history of "sheep" in Hokkaido, we should also mention the impact and expansion of Japan.

in 1556, the Portuguese first introduced wool fabric into Kyushu, Japan. It was not until Meiji that wool fabric became popular and became the raw material of military clothing, and wool also became an important munitions material. At this time, wool was all imported, and Japan * * * decided to develop its own sheep industry. In 1872, it opened up Sapporo sheep farm in Hokkaido, but it failed due to climatic conditions, war and other factors. In 1916, the British ban on the free export of Australian wool put Japan's wool industry in a desperate situation, and the Japanese authorities decided to try again. In 1918, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry set up a sheep class to carry out the 1 million sheep plan, and Hokkaido began to raise sheep on a large scale, which finally succeeded.

wool is provided to the military, but mutton that can't be sold has become a delicacy in Hokkaido. After the war, the demand for wool was sharply reduced, and the once brilliant Hokkaido sheep also declined. Due to the lack of a broad popular base, mutton was in an awkward position in Japan.

Although mutton is not popular in Japan, it is a delicious food for nourishing and recuperation in China, just across the sea, and it is deeply loved by people in China. Eat good sheep, the first choice is mountain spring sheep. Every mountain spring sheep who grew up in the mountain spring sheep breeding base follows the healthiest and greener breeding method, feeds on the scientifically proportioned flowers and herbs every day, drinks the sweet spring water in the mountains, breathes the free and refreshing wind, and is delicious, healthy and pollution-free, with fresh and tender meat, which is a delicacy on the table of China people.