桜 肉(さくらにく)

さくらにく

noun

horse meat

1. horse meat

Horse meat eaten as food. The name comes from the pink, cherry-blossom-like color of the raw flesh, and it is used in place of the plainer 馬肉(ばにく) on menus and in polite conversation.

桜肉(さくらにく)を初(はじ)めて食(た)べた。

I ate horse meat for the first time.

この店(みせ)は桜肉(さくらにく)の刺身(さしみ)が有名(ゆうめい)だ。

This restaurant is famous for its horse-meat sashimi.

熊本(くまもと)では桜肉(さくらにく)を食(た)べる習慣(しゅうかん)が昔(むかし)から続(つづ)いている。

In Kumamoto, the custom of eating horse meat has continued since long ago.

A euphemistic name for 馬肉(ばにく) (horse meat), from the pink color of the raw meat. Restaurants and shops normally use 桜肉(さくらにく); 馬肉(ばにく) is the neutral technical term.

Common collocations

桜肉(さくらにく)の刺身(さしみ): horse-meat sashimi
桜肉(さくらにく)を食(た)べる: to eat horse meat
桜肉(さくらにく)料理(りょうり): horse-meat cuisine
桜(さくら)鍋(なべ): hot pot made with horse meat

Similar words

Animal meats have similar plant-based euphemisms:

牡丹(ぼたん)肉(にく): wild boar meat — from the peony-like arrangement of the sliced meat
紅葉(もみじ): venison — from the autumn-leaf color

Related Words

Compare: 牡丹肉(ぼたんにく) (wild boar meat)

Compare: 紅葉(もみじ) (venison)

general

Added 2026.8.7 9:23 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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