At the time of the cultivation of rice, around the second century AD, cattle were brought to Japan from China.
What did the Japanese think of the cattle?
Until 1868, they were basically used as draught animals in forestry, agriculture, mining and for transport.
Thats very interesting, tell me more.
At the time, for cultural and religious reasons, meat wasn't eaten and milk consumption was unknown.
I neve knew that meat wasn't eaten at that time in Japan.
Japan was effectively isolated from the rest of the world from 1635 until 1854; there was no possibility of intromission of foreign genes to the cattle population during this time. Between 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration, and 1887, some 2600 foreign cattle were imported, including "Braunvieh", Shorthorn, and Devon. Between about 1900 and 1910 there was extensive cross-breeding of these with native stock. From 1919, the various heterogeneous regional populations that resulted from this brief period of cross-breeding were registered
Kobe beef
Kobe beef is also called , or in Japanese.
History.
Cattle were brought to Japan from China at the same time as the cultivation of rice, in about the second century AD, in the Yayoi period. Until about the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, they were used only as draught animals, in agriculture, forestry, mining and for transport, and as a source of fertiliser. Milk consumption was unknown, and – for cultural and religious reasons – meat was not eaten.