The End of a 1 , 200 - year - old Ban on the Eating of Meat Removal of the Ban on Meat

The opening of Japan’s borders, along with the restoration of political power to the Imperial court, was seen as an opportunity to aggressively integrate Western customs into Japanese culture. In terms of diet, removal of the longstanding social taboo against the eating of meat became a symbol of this integration. While there are cultures throughout the world that forbid the eating of beef or pork for religious reasons, the social taboo against the eating of all types of domestic livestock once seen in Japan is unique. However, this does not mean that meat was never eaten by anyone in Japan. Taking era, region, and social class into consideration, quite a number of people ate meat. We must look at history to understand the diverse relationship between the Japanese people and meat.