One of the major misconceptions foreigners often have with regards to the Japanese is that they only eat fish and nothing else. While it is very true that the Japanese love to eat fish, they crave for other animals as well. As a matter of fact, one of Japan’s most popular dishes is horse sashimi or raw horse meat. Raising horses for their meat is a major industry in some regions of Japan. But why the Japanese pick horses and not cats, donkeys, or better yet llamas?
The answer lies in Japan’s warring past. In ancient times, horses were used extensively in battle by the Japanese military. As food supplies often ran short, Japanese soldiers had had to resort to killing war horses for food. Through time, they became accustomed to eating horse meat. When the war ended, disbanded soldiers continued to this tradition and thus this was how horse sashimi came about.
Horse sashimi is one of Japan’s most popular dishes, but it is also one of the most expensive dishes. This is largely due to the fact that the Japanese do not view horses the same way as they view common livestock such cows and chicken. Horses are highly respected in Japan. Raising horses to be killed for food has to be carried out in a proper and honorable way. The extra care required to raise the horse is the reason why horse sashimi is a bit more expensive.
[Simon N.]
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