Japanese food

Following the Jōmon period, Japanese society shifted from semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural society. This was the period in which rice cultivation began having been introduced by way of the Korean peninsula and directly from China. Short-grain rice has been the only type of rice grown in Japan, which contrasts with the long-grain rice grown in other Asian regions. Rice was commonly boiled plain and called gohan or meshi, and as cooked rice has since always been the preferred staple of the meal, the terms are used as synonyms for the word "meal." Peasants often mixed millet with rice, especially in mountainous regions where rice did not proliferate.
During the Koruna period much of Japanese civilization came from Korea which in turn was heavily influenced by Chinese culture. As such Buddhism was a large influence on Japanese culture. After the 6th century, Japan directly pursued the imitation of Chinese culture under the Tang dynasty. It was this influence that marked the taboos on the consumption of meat in Japan. In 675 A.D. Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on the consumption of cattle, horse, dogs, monkeys, and chickens during the 4th-9th months of the year, to break the law would mean a death sentence.
Monkey was eaten prior to this time, but was eaten more in a ritualistic style for medicinal purposes. Chicken were often domesticated as pets, while cattle and horses were rare and treated as such. A cow or horse would be ritually sacrificed on the first day of rice paddy cultivation , a ritual introduced from China. Emperor Temmu's decree however did not ban the consumption of deer or wild boar, which were important to the Japanese diet at that time.
The 8th century saw many additional decrees made by emperors and empresses on the ban of killing of any animals. In 752 A.D., Empress Kōken decreed a ban even on fishing, but made a promise that adequate rice would be given to fishermen whose livelihood would have otherwise been destroyed. In 927 A.D. regulations were enacted that stated that any government official or member of nobility that ate meat was deemed unclean for three days and could not participate in Shinto observances at the imperial court.