When you think of beef, what Japanese washoku dish comes to mind?
Many of you might say “sukiyaki.”
Interestingly, sukiyaki is not a traditional Japanese dish – it came about during the Meiji period.
Back then, it was called “gyunabe” or “aguranabe,” which gained popularity thanks to Yukichi Fukuzawa, who wrote the famous “Gakumon no susume” (“An Encouragement of Learning”).
Fukuzawa was born in 1834 (the fifth year of the Tempo Era), founded Keio University, and helped modernize education and culture after the Meiji Restoration.
The Push for Eating Meat
Having traveled to America and Europe before the restoration, Yukichi Fukuzawa saw Western food culture up close and might have believed that Japan also needed to change its eating habits.
After coming back to Japan, he was already digging into gyunabe in Osaka with his students during the late Edo period.
In 1870 (Meiji Year 3), he wrote “Nikushoku no setsu” (“Theory of Meat Eating”), where he promoted the meat-eating culture. He aimed to spread not just Western knowledge but also their food culture in Japan.
The Time when Meat-Eating was Off-Limits
The year after Yukichi Fukuzawa’s book came out promoting meat eating, in 1871 (Meiji Year 4), Emperor Meiji officially lifted the meat ban and even started to eat beef himself. Afterwards, the general population followed suit.
Japan had a long period when meat-eating was not permitted. Back in the 670s, during Emperor Tenmu’s reign, a meat ban was announced, and for about 1,200 years, the Japanese population didn’t officially eat meat.
The sudden change in eating habits during the Meiji era shows just how significant the Meiji Restoration was. This marked a big shift in Japanese customs and overall values.
Yukichi Fukuzawa’s Gyunabe
A few years back, I recreated what Fukuzawa’s gyunabe would have looked like for a TV show.
These days, we make sukiyaki using soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Back in the end of the Edo period through the Meiji period, gyunabe was different from today’s sukiyaki – it was enjoyed with miso. Since he ate it in Osaka, it was probably served with white miso in kansai style instead of red.
Another difference is the thickness of the beef. We now use thinly sliced meat that’s a bit thicker than shabu-shabu meat. But the gyunabe back then normally used meat slices that were about 0.5 to 1 centimeter (0.2 – 0.4 inches) thick, almost like steak.
I imagine that the meat then maybe had a stronger smell, so to cover it up, they used the rich flavor of miso. As the quality of meat gradually improved over time, there was not much need to camouflage the smell, so they switched to soy cause and mirin, which is how we enjoy it today. That’s how I see it.
Source: Wikimedia Commons (Fukuzawa Research Center). Public Domain.
No Gyunabe? Not Cool….
When I made Fukuzawa’s gyunabe, I started by lightly simmering the meat in a broth of water, sake, and sugar. I finished it off by mixing in some miso paste with sugar and mirin while letting it simmer away. I also added grilled tofu, konnyaku, and chrysanthemum greens. The key point is to sprinkle it with ground sansho pepper, for a spicy twist balancing nicely with the sweetness.
You can picture diners in the Meiji era digging in gyunabe and saying, “No gyunabe, not cool.”
I’ve written about the early days of beef eating in Japan.
Even now, after 150 years, we still don’t have that many popular beef dishes in traditional Japanese cuisine.
It would be quite interesting to think, “What if the beef dishes we create today were passed down to future generations?”
So, let’s give it a try!
