Recently, I met one of my friends who went to the same high school, and have a dinner together. At the shopping mall, there are a lot of restaurants which I want to try someday, so it is hard to choose one. At the time, we a shabu-shabu restaurant.
Nowadays, Shabu-shabu (also spelled syabu-syabu) is regarded as one of the famouse Japanese foods, and the beginning of its history dates back to the 20th century. The first shabu-shabu restaurant "Suehiro" opened in Osaka, it is said that Suehiro named the kind of dish "Shabu-shabu," whici is onomatopoeic, being sound heard when sliced beef is dipped and waved in boiling stock. Shabu-shabu is known as Japanese dish, but the origins are Chinese hot pot, "shuan yang rou."
It's not only shabu-shabu, but there is a variety of hot pot dish (nabemono), for example; sukiyaki, oden, yosenabe, and yudofu. The reason why Japanese people tend to like that kind of dish that the Japanese common house had an irori, which is at the floor to heat the hot pot.
Also, Japanese people believe that to share a hot pot promote bonding. I think that the history built the society which values ties that are uniquely Japanese.
