The Japanese consider themselves a compassionate people when it comes to an animal's fate. Memorial stones have been erected in whaling villages since the early Edo Period (1603-1867), as they are today at slaughterhouses. Buddhist priests are hired to read the sutras before altars set with incense and piled with fruit to pray for the souls of animals killed for food.
These rituals, which actually have their roots in Shinto beliefs that gods reside in all things, are called ireisai (memorial services) or kanshasai (thanksgiving services). They testify to the deep sentiment of gratitude that Japanese people feel toward the animals that sustain them.
Well, they may feel gratitude to animals they kill, and the affection lavished on pets is also obvious at every turn, but are they conscious of cows, pigs and chickens as creatures deserving of humane treatment while alive?