is a Japanese grilled mutton dish prepared on a convex metal skillet or other grill. The dish is particularly popular on the northern island of Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

 and Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Etymology

The dish is rumored to be so named because in prewar Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, lamb was widely thought to be the meat of choice among Mongolian soldiers, and the dome-shaped skillet is meant to represent the soldiers' helmets that they purportedly used to cook their food.

There is a dispute over from where the dish originated; candidates include Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Zaō Onsen

Zao Onsen

is a famous hot spring area on Mount Zaō in the northern part of Honshū, the main island of Japan. Records date back as far as 110 A.D. A wounded warrior is said to have drawn an arrow out of his body and cleaned the wound at a spring only to find that the injury healed miraculously quickly and...

, and Tōno

Tono, Iwate

is a city located in Iwate, Japan. The city of Tōno lies near the center of Iwate Prefecture in the floodplain of the Sarugaishi River. It is known as "The City of Folklore" for its rural nature, its preservation of traditional culture and especially for the collection of folktales, Tōno...

. The first Jingisukan dedicated restaurant was a that opened in Tokyo in 1936.

External links

• Jingisukan barbecue restaurant