An American Butcher's Shop

Beef was as odd to Japanese as it was familiar to the westerners who imported whole steers from China and America to feed the foreign population in Yokohama. By 1861 Yokohama had two butcher's shops with more to come. After complaints by locals, municipal officials relegated butcher shops to a strip of beach on the outskirts of town, as alluded to by this print's caption: "The people who do the slaughtering in these beef shops, though Americans, live on the extreme edge of town." Although first generally considered unappealing, beef-eating would soon be advertized by the likes of Fukuzawa Yukichi as a mark of a strong civilization. For more comments by Hashimoto about beef, click here.