During the
Kofun period, Buddhism became the official religion of the country. Therefore, eating meat and fish was prohibited. In 675 AD,
Emperor Tenmu prohibited the eating of horses, dogs, monkeys, and chickens.
[15] In the 8th and 9th centuries, many emperors continued to prohibit killing many types of animals. The number of regulated meats increased significantly, leading to the banning of all mammals except whale, which were categorized as fish.
[16] During this period, chopsticks were introduced to Japan. Initially, they were only used by the nobility.
[17] The general population used their hands, as utensils were quite expensive.