近江牛の歴史｜「近江牛」生産・流通推進協議会

The history of the Ōmi cattle

The history around the Ōmi cattle

The Edo Period	In 1590	Tensho 18years	When Toyotomi Hideyoshi did Odawara siege,Takayama Ukon had behaved beef to Gamo Ujisato and Hosokawa Tadaoki.
	In 1687	Genroku era	The Hikone domain devised miso pickles of the beef. It was named "Henpongan".
	In 1771	Anei era	The Hikone beef was served to feudal lords.
	In 1781	Tenmei era	The Hikone domain presented the miso beef to Ienari of shogun.
	In 1788	Kansyo era	Hikone domain started drying beef recipe, and presented them to the Ienari of shogun.
	In 1848	Kaei era	In Gamo district, raising of the cattle began by instruction of the Bishu clansman.
	In 1853	Ansei era	Kanji of Uoya town Hikone displayed a signboard of Hikone cattle and started a business in Edo era. Naosuke Ii stopped annual beef presentation to Mito Nariaki for prohibition on hunting and fishing
	In 1866	Keiou era	Beef produced in Goshu Hikone is sold as medicine. “Beef Nabe Store” opens.
The Meiji Period	In 1869	Meiji２	Driving cattle for 17 ～ 18 days, traders reach Yokohama and begin trading with foreign parties directly.
	In 1877	Meiji10	50 slaughters a day are conducted in Ousaka, Musa, Omachi, Toyosato, and Imazu
	In 1879	Meiji12	Kyuji Takenaka opens “Yonekyu”, a beef wholesale/retail store, in Tokyo. 40 slaughters a day are conducted, mainly Ōmi brands.
	In 1882	Meiji15	Shipping of cattle to Tokyo via Kobe port begins.
	In 1884	Meiji17	Shipping of cattle to Tokyo via Yokkaichi port begins.
	In 1887	Meiji20	Slaughter regulation law is enacted. Slaughter figures in Tokyo, 20,000. (By region: Ōmi 33%, Settsu 32%, Banshu 11%, Ise 7%).
	In 1890	Meiji23	Using the Tokaido Line that opened on the previous year, shipment of cattle from Yahata station begins.
	In 1892	Meiji25	Cattle plague spreads from the Korean peninsula, shipment of cattle is banned.
	In 1907	Meiji40	Shouzouou Nishii, pioneer of Ōmi Cattle, establishes the Gamō District Cattle Horse Union.
	In 1910	Meiji43	Livestock market law is enacted. Prefecture livestock market union, Kusatsu, Yokaichi, and Kibukawa markets are established.
	In 1911	Meiji44	A permanent livestock market is established (Kusatsu, Kibukawa, Kotou, Yokaichi, Seta, Yasu, Nishioshitate, Kinomoto).
Taisho Showa Heisei	In 1906	大正3	The National Livestock Exhibition is held in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Cattle from the Gamō district wins first prize.
	In 1932	Showa6	The prefecture establishes a stud in Ichimiyake, Yasu city.
	In 1935	Showa10	Cattle from the Gamō district wins 3rd prize at the Tokyo Shibaura Livestock Market competition.
	In 1942	Showa17	The enactment of heifer loaning promotes the breeding of Japanese Beef.
	In 1948	Showa23	Livestock department is established in the Shiga prefecture office.
	In 1951	Showa26	Ōmi Beef Association is established.
	In 1952	Showa27	Kinki Tokai Hokuriku Beef Cattle Exhibition (1st) is held.
	In 1954	Showa29	Large-scaled advertisement is held at Nihonbashi Shirokiya.
	In 1959	Showa34	Attempts production of beef cattle through Japanese Beef production training projects and livestock placement projects.
	In 1962	Showa37	Shiga prefecture Livestock Trade Union is established.
	In 1966	Showa41	“Shiga Local Wholesale Meat Market Co., Ltd.” is established.
	In 1991	Heisei3	Beef trade is liberalized.
	In 2005	Heisei17	“Ōmi Beef” is defined.
	In 2007	Heisei19	Shiga Meat Center begins its operations.
	In 2007	Heisei19	“Ōmi Beef” is registered as a local trademark.
	In 2007	Heisei19	“Ōmi Beef” Production/Logistics Promotion Association is established.
	In 2008	Heisei20	“Ōmi Beef” certification system begins.
	In 2009	Heisei21	Certified “Ōmi Beef” Store system begins.

Glossary

Henpongan

During the Edo era, beef was used as medicine. 1687, in the Hikone Domain, Denemon Hanaki suggests to soak the beef intŌmiso, based on what he read in Bencao Gangmu by Li Shizhen. This is said to be the beginning of “Henpongan”. “Bencao Gangmu” was passed on from Ming during the Keicho years. In it, it states, “The meat of huángniú is sweet and harmless, it balances your insides, looks after your stomach, hips, and legs”. So, Henpongan was most likely made as a health preservative. At the time, you couldn’t eat beef in public, so maybe it was easier to call it medicine.

Dried beef of “Kan”

Records show that during the Edo era, beef was dried in the Hikone Domain. Production of this dried meat began in early January, the coldest time of year, and lasted about a month. This was done to keep the salt contents of the meat to a minimum. This period was called “Kan”, and these “Kan” dried beef were used as medicine. There is a “Production Method” recipe left from that time.

“Cut up the meat and take out the sinews during Kan, soak in spring water to eliminate the smell, steam it, attach strings to it, and dry them. If it’s not done during Kan, you must add salt to prevent the meat from being damaged. You can produce this during warm seasons if you use a lot of salt, but it loses its medicinal benefits, so it is of little use.”

Gojoshi Yoriai Tomecho (Gojoshi’s Collective Notebook)
(Hikone Jo Museum)

The thank you letter from Nariaki Tokugawa

　The demand for Hikone beef was high among feudal lords due to its high nutrition. Nariaki Tokugawa of Mito was one of them. Here is a part of the thank you letter Nariaki sent to Naosuke Ii of the Hikone Domain on December of the first year of the Kaei Era (1848). At the end, it says “Thank you for the numerous gifts of beef, I use it for medicinal purposes as well, thank you”.

Nariaki Tokugawa’s letter (Hikone Jo Museum)

Beef store in Atsugi

　Below is a picture of Atsugi, a lodging village, in Bunkyu 3 (1863), taken by photographer, Felice Beato upon his arrival to Japan. The store on the right has two signs that say “Soaked Beef” and “Medicinal”. This means, 3～4 years prior to the Meiji Restoration, beef (most likely miso-soaked) made in Goshu Hikone was sold in small towns away from the Tokaido Line, such as Atsugi, as medicinal goods. (Reference: “Beef and Japanese People” by Atsushi Yoshida)


Store that sells Hikone Beef in a Atsugi lodge at the end of the Edo era. (Yokohama Port Reference Museum “F. Beato Bakumatsu Photographs”)

Changes in shipping routes

Around Meiji 5 (1872)

* Shipment via Tokaido Line on land

Around Meiji 15 ～ 17 (1882 ～ 1884)

From Kobe Port to Shimoda Port, Livestock shipping to Yokohama Port (15～) (1882～)
* Livestock shipping from Yokkaichi port (17～) (1884～)

Around Meiji 25 (1892)

* Shipment of dressed carcasses from Tokai Ōmi Hachiman Station to Tokyo.

When shipped via railroads, it is easy to tell that it was loaded in Ōmi Hachiman Station, which made “Ōmi Beef” more famous.

The large-scaled advertisement

　Soon after the establishment of Ōmi Beef Association in Showa 26 (1951), a livestock competition was held in Shibaura, Tokyo. In Showa 28 (1953), advertisement initiatives were implemented at places like the National Diet and Ueno Park. In Showa 29 (1954), a full-scaled advertisement was conducted at Shirokiya.


Mr. Tsutsumi, President of the House of Representatives awards a lei to an Ōmi Cattle.		Auction sale of Ōmi Beef (Showa 29 (1954) Rooftop of Nihonbashi Shirokiya)