桜肉
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Japanese[edit]
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 桜 | 肉 |
| さくら Grade: 5 |
にく Grade: 2 |
| yutōyomi | |
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 櫻肉 (kyūjitai) さくら肉 |
Etymology[edit]
Several theories exist:
- A codeword used in the Edo period, during parts of which meat was banned or considered taboo. 桜 (sakura, “cherry”) was used on its own to substitute the entire name 馬肉 (baniku), possibly later developing into the current form with 肉 (niku) attached. Pork was also referred to as 牡丹 (botan, “peony”) and deer as 紅葉 (momiji, “red leaves”), which appears to accord with this origin.
- Horse meat purportedly tastes better around the same time that cherry trees blossom (spring); after winter, for which the horse accumulates fat reserves to keep warm, the horse will remain fattened and as a result taste considerably better, becoming associated with the cherry blossoms of the same season.
- Horse meat resembles cherry blossoms in color.
- Conflation with 佐倉 (Sakura), a city close to Edo known for its horse ranches.
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
桜肉 • (sakuraniku)
Categories:
- Japanese terms spelled with 桜 read as さくら
- Japanese terms spelled with 肉 read as にく
- Japanese terms read with yutōyomi
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese nouns
- Japanese terms spelled with fifth grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with second grade kanji
- Japanese terms written with two Han script characters