Tokyo Shamo Chicken (Tokyo): season, origin and where to buy

Seasonal calendar

Timing shifts with the weather and conditions in each region.

Official registration details (MAFF)

Characteristics

Tokyo Shamo is produced by crossing improved purebred shamo (Japanese gamecock) with Rhode Island Red and then backcrossing the offspring with purebred shamo (a three-way crossing system). It thus inherits 75 percent of the shamo line and has meat quality close to that of purebred shamo. Its muscles are well developed, and the meat is firm with a pleasant chewiness.

Link with the production area

Shamo that had been raised around Tokyo since the Edo period were selectively bred into lines. In 1982 a crossing system producing meat close to that of purebred shamo was established, and distribution began in 1984.

Characteristics and link with the area: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website (https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/gi_act/register/0077/index.html) The English text is our translation of the Japanese original.

Where to buy

As a rule, only products that meet the registered standard may use a GI name (with exceptions such as prior use). Check for the GI mark and the place of origin to tell it apart from ordinary products with similar names.

Find on furusato nozei (opens in a new tab)

These links go to Japanese-language shops; check whether they ship overseas.

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FAQ

A jidori chicken produced in Tokyo. Developed from shamo gamecocks kept around Tokyo since the Edo period, it uses a three-way cross with Rhode Island Red that retains 75 percent shamo blood. The meat is close to that of purebred shamo, firm and pleasantly chewy.

Tokyo Shamo Chicken is produced in Tokyo.

Tokyo Shamo Chicken is shipped all year round.

Look for it via furusato nozei (hometown tax donation). Check the GI mark and the place of origin before you buy.

Tokyo Shamo Chicken was registered as a Geographical Indication on May 8, 2019 (Registration No. 77). The registered producer group is 東京しゃも生産組合.