Tonkatsu, a very popular dish in Japan, is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet. It is a yōshoku type of dish, a style of Western-influenced cooking originated during the Meiji Restoration.
Tonkatsu derived from a dish made with beef, called katsuretsu (cutlet). It is said that a restaurant from Ginza, in 1890, was the first to serve a dish similar to today’s tonkatsu, made from pork.

Since then, tonkatsu diversified a lot and became a Japanese traditional food. I tried a lot of versions, but my favorite is one of the simplest: tonkatsu from pork fillet, served with rice, shredded cabbage, miso soup and tsukemono (Japanese pickles).

Tonkatsu served with shredded cabbage, miso soup, rice and tsukemono

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Reflections on Sumitomo Fudosan Akihabara