Henpongan, it may be a traditional medicine...or something very tasty

Have you heard the word "henpongan" in Japanese?
Henpongan is a traditional medicine which invented in the Edo period.
It is made of miso marinated beef.
Hanaki Denemon, a samurai in the Hikone domain invented it with the knowledge from a Chinese book "Honzou Koumoku (the Compendium of Materia Medica)".

The Hikone domain was located in the north part of Oumi province (Oumi was the same area as current Shiga prefecture).
In the Edo period, generally both slaughter and eating cattle was inhibited by the Tokugawa shogunate under the influence of Buddhism.
However only Hikone domain had the right to kill cattle to take their skin for making leather goods.
After they took the skin from cattle, beef remained.
So as the name of medicine henpongan, they could use the beef and people could eat the medicine.

Also Ii family, the daimyo of Hikone domain, had sent henpongan to other daimyo in all over Japan as a gift.
Henpongan from Hikone domain was a very popular gift among daimyo.
Even some people say "Sakuradamongai no Hen (the Sakuradamon incident in 1860, the assassination of Ii Naosuke, daimyo of Hikone and tairou, the chief minister in Tokugawa shogunate)" was caused by henpongan.

Once Ii Naosuke have refused to send henpongan to Tokugawa Nariaki, daimyo of the Mito domain and father of last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
Tokugawa Nariaki was a henpongan lover and had asked Ii family it many times before.
However Ii Naosuke refused to send henpongan to him.
After that, samurais from Mito domain attacked and assassinated him in front of the Sakuradamon gate.

Actually, Ii Naosuke and Tokugawa Nariaki had some troubles in politics besides that henpongan business, so we can't conclude henpongan was a reason of the assassination.
But there are a proverb in Japan, "Kuimono no urami wa osoroshii (a grudges about foods is very frightening)".
How do you think about it?

Nowadays henpongan is sold just as "gyuniku misoduke (miso marinated beef)" in Hikone or other cities in Shiga prefecture.
They use a brand beef Oumi gyu for it, so henpongan must be tasty even today.
So if we are asked henpongan by someone, maybe we better send them it quickly before our assassination will happen.