Rickshaw and Sukiyaki; Japanese inventions to catch up with the West

 "Sukiyaki" is traditional cuisine consists of thinly sliced beef and vegetables simmered on sauce pan. It was the great among all dishes that I've enjoyed with my Argentine friend. Her country is famous for its large amount of production and consumption of beef. Also Argentine has traditional beef dish called "Asado" that literally means "grilled" or "barbecued" in Spanish. Maybe she would enjoy the different cooking style of beef. That's one of the reason why I had chosen Sukiyaki for the dinner.

 One thing I was concerned about Sukiyaki is that it is served with bowl of raw beaten eggs. After it was well cooked, we picked some pieces of beef and dipped them into the bowl.

How was the verdict?

¡Qué rico!
I'm happy because she really liked it. Actually the mixture of Sukiyaki sauce with beef and raw beaten eggs is melt in your mouth. That also made my face melt like above picture. I have to admit I was so relaxed with enjoying Sukiyaki in traditional Japanese room. Japanese Sake also goes well with Sukiyaki.

This Sukiyaki restaurant uses only soy sauce and sugar as seasoning. As the sugar melt and mixed with soy sauce and oil from beef, it produced the distinct aroma. It gave me the sense of nostalgia that took me back to good old days of Japan.

Sukiyaki was invented in the time when Japan opened its port to the West. That dates back to late 19C. Originally we didn't have the custom to eat meat because of the Buddhist teaching. As western people brought their meat to Japan, people were influenced by their food culture and then Japanese invented own way to enjoy beef dish. That was the origin of Sukiyaki as we know it today.

Not only food but also veichle was also invented in that period. That was Rickshaw, veichle pulled by a man. It is called "jinrikisha" in Japanese, "jin" means human, "riki" means force, and "sha" means vehicle. So it literally means "human-powered vehicle" and the English word "Rickshaw" is derived from Japanese word "rikisha". We tried it when we visited Arashiyama after enjoying Studio Park in Uzumasa.

It was perfect transportation for us to enjoy the views of Arashiyama efficiently. Olden days, Arashiyama was one of the resort for aristocrat to escape from daily life and they trip to there by using Ox-Cart. For Samurai lord or ordinary people in feudal Japan, there was the other human forced transportation “Kago”, kind of palanquin but it took place for rickshaw in late 19C.

Rickshaw was faster than Ox-Cart and “Kago” palanquin and it spread rapidly just after Japan open its door to the West. Maybe Japanese needed faster transportation to catch up with Western civilization. For that purpose, we also needs nutritious food such as meat so “Sukiyaki” was encouraged by cultured people, for example, Yukichi Fukuzawa, the man you can find on ten thousand yen bill  recommended Japanese meat consumption to be stronger. Maybe “Sukiyaki” contributed for Japan to make its military and economy stronger.

Although we spent a "Yukichi" ten thousand yen for the amount of Rickshaw and Sukiyaki, it was worth paying.  We could save and gain out energy by taking rickshaw and eating Sukiyaki for the next day activity!