Dizzy because of Kanji Letters

The Kanji characters in that brand are only known to Ibaraki residents. Meanwhile, people outside Ibaraki don't understand.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Processed wagyu beef at a restaurant in Jakarta, October 2021.

MYTH, FRIDAY — Don't worry if you can't read the Kanji characters commonly used in Japan. The marketing case of beef wagyu proves that some Japanese people also don't know how to read the letter.

As reported by Kyodo News on Wednesday (8/5/2024), the fact was revealed in a survey about a brand of a slaughterhouse. Only 43 percent of respondents in their 20s and 57 percent of respondents in their 30s were able to correctly read "Hitachiwagyu".

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Meanwhile, respondents above the age of 50 can correctly read it by almost 70 percent. The brand is for the packaging of wagyu beef from the Nikunoiijima slaughterhouse in Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture.

The brand is used to distinguish their product from the meat that is cut in Kobe. Many people indeed know that wagyu beef is bred in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Steak wagyu rendang seasoning fan mashed potatoe

It turns out, there was indeed a writing error. The Kanji characters in that brand are only known to Ibaraki residents. Meanwhile, people outside Ibaraki do not understand how to write "hitachi" which is used in the brand.

The brand was inspired by the former name of Ibaraki. Until the 19th century, Ibaraki was known as Hitachi Prefecture. The spelling is different, for example, the name of the city Hitachinaka which is also located in Ibaraki.

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However, there are no plans to change the brand name. Moreover, on the packaging, there are also brands featuring alphabets or Latin letters. Therefore, the brand of the meat can still be identified.