The History of Beef Bowl

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　　　　The origin of gyudon was sukiyaki(Gyunabe). It first appeared in 1862. It was said that the origin of this style came from the fact that the master of a bar called Isekuma in Yokohama overcame his wife’s opposition and started to sell boiled beef. In addition, the illustration which was drawn by Kanagaki Robun showed people enjoying Gyunabe. In a moment, the Gyunabe boom arrived and leaded to the roots of Gyudon.

　　　　It was said that rice served in bowl first appeared on Japanese tables in the early Edo period. Kendon buckwheat noodle shop became more and more popular at that time. Kendon derived from stingy. There was a theory that the bowl containing a lot of dishes was called “Kendonburibati”,which changed to “Donburi”. In 1899, Matsuda Eikichi who had worked at restaurant marked Gyudonmeshi. In order to have the artisans eat delicious food, the restaurant served beef and rice, which were still high class at that time. This became later Yoshinoya’s Gyudon In 1947, Yoshinoya’s Gyudon was regarded as a high class meal at the same price as Unaju. However, there was a constant stream of customers. In 1952, Yoshinoya’s Gyudon tried to operate 24 hours a day. In addition, it increased its name recognition as a specialty store in Tsukiji. In 1975, because of the limited imports of meat into Japan, Yoshinoya established in the USA. Therefore, Gyudon named beef bowl.

　　　　At present, there are many beef bowl restaurants such as Matsuya ,Sukiya and so on. They provide customers “Tasty, cheap and fast” beef bowls. Besides, they are making effort for saving high quality beef bowl for customers. A lot of beef bowl restaurants have become popular not only in Japan but also overseas.