The breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet tonkatsu is a Japanese dish with a very recent history. It first appeared at the end of the 19th century as a type of yoshoku — the Western-influenced Japanese dishes — but with time, tonkatsu has become increasingly Japanized, widely available to the masses and thus more popular.

Tonkatsu is a dish in itself or, if married with other ingredients, it can turn into many of its almost endless variations; made like a sandwich, paired with ramen or rice, poured over with a thick miso sauce as done in Nagoya, or served with curry to make katsu karē. 

Katsudon is a type of donburi, meaning it's a rice dish served in a bowl topped with simmered ingredients. In this case, the topping is another Japanese favorite — tonkatsu — a deep-fried and crumbed pork cutlet, but here it is simmered together with vegetables in a seasoned sauce bound with eggs.

The earliest reference to the dish dates back to 1921 and since then numerous varieties have been developed by adding or replacing the ingredients from the original recipe. The best-known versions include katsudon made with Worcestershire sauce, miso, and soy sauce, but there are also ones that replace pork with beef or chicken.

Chashu is slowly braised pork belly, a staple Japanese dish infused with traditional flavors of soy sauce and sake. The dish can be made with flat pork belly, but the pieces can also be rolled to create more sophisticated versions which cook more evenly.

Prepared pork belly is covered in a fragrant mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. The liquid is additionally seasoned with sliced ginger and scallions, and the meat is braised on low heat for hours, until it soaks up all the layered flavors and turns the thick pork belly into an incredibly soft, tender, and juicy piece of meat. 

Butadon is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice that is topped with sliced fatty pork cooked in a slightly sweet soy sauce. Other common toppings include green peas and onions. The name butadon is derived from two words – buta, meaning pork, and don, meaning bowl, so the dish can be translated as pork bowl.

It originated in Obihiro, and most sources credit Mr. Abe from the Pancho restaurant with its invention, who supposedly created it in 1933 because he wanted the Japanese people to consume more pork.

Kakuni is a braised pork dish originating from Nagasaki. The name kakuni means square simmered, referring to the typical shape of the dish. In order to prepare it, thick slices of pork belly are slowly simmered in soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi, and sugar.

The slow-cooking process renders out most of the fat, which turns into gelatin, imparting a tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture to the meat. It is recommended to pair kakuni with daikon, scallions, and karashi.

Shogayaki is one of the most common pork dishes in Japan. It consists of lean cuts of pork that are thinly sliced and braised in a flavorful mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and grated ginger. In Japan, shogayaki is a popular lunch or dinner choice and even though it is commonly prepared in many Japanese households, it is also a staple restaurant item.

The dish is usually served alongside rice and shredded cabbage or enjoyed as a part of takeaway bento meals.

Rafute is a traditional dish originating from Okinawa. The main compoment of the dish is braised pork belly, but every restaurant has its own variation. In order to prepare it, the pork belly is usually slowly cooked in black sugar, soy sauce, and awamori (Okinawan distilled liquor).

The origins of rafute are believed to come from a Chinese dish called dong po rou. While the pork is simmering, the fat renders and becomes gelatinous. When eaten with chopsticks, the meat just falls apart due to the long slow-cooking process. It's recommended to serve it with steamed white rice or noodles on the side and pair it with an ice-cold beer.