Honoring Sendai’s Signature Beef‑Tongue Cuisine

Today, and September 10th annually, is Beef Tongue Day 牛たんの日 (Gyūtan no Hi) in Japan. The anniversary was established by the Sendai Gyūtan Promotion Association, a group of specialty beef‑tongue restaurants centered in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Gyūtan refers to the tongue of the cow. "Gyu" is the Japanese for beef and "tan" is derived from the English word tongue, forming a hybrid term of Japanese and foreign origin. Typically, the meat is prepared by removing the outer skin and slicing the inner portion either thin for yakiniku or thick for traditional gyūtan grilling.

Sendai Gyūtan Promotion Association chose September 10th for the anniversary, because using Japanese wordplay 'goroawase' 9/10 can be read as "gyu (9) tan (10)".  Gyūtan has long been a beloved part of Sendai’s food culture. The purpose of the day is to encourage more people to enjoy Sendai’s famous gyūtan dishes.