Layer 2 · 銘柄meigara, brand
A brand is a rulebook, not a breed
A Japanese beef brand is a local definition. It sets which breed, which sex, how old, where the animal was fattened, and the minimum grade. The 2021 brand handbook lists 377 of them, up from 139 in its 1999 edition. [Handbook 2021]
The rules below are as printed in the March 2021 handbook, which compiles answers from prefectures and producer groups and is not exhaustive. Rules change over time. Check the brand's own body for anything current.
Five brands compared (2021 handbook)
| Brand (working label) | Cattle | Age & grade | Other rules / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobe Beef神戸ビーフ | Tajima cattle sired only by Hyogo-owned bulls, bred and fattened by registered Hyogo producers. Heifers that have not calved, or steers. | 28 months or older. Yield grade A or B, with marbling BMS No.6 or higher. | Carcass weight capped at 499.9 kg. Slaughtered at meat centres in Hyogo. A certificate for each animal. Registered as a Geographical Indication (GI) together with Tajima beef. [Handbook 2021] |
| Matsusaka松阪牛 | Japanese Black heifers that have not calved. | — | Traceability system since August 2002, with 36 data items searchable by ID. "Tokusan" Matsusaka are Hyogo calves fattened for 900+ days. [Handbook 2021] |
| Omi近江牛 | Japanese Black, fattened in Shiga. | — | GI registered (No.56). Lists export markets in Asia. [Handbook 2021] |
| Yonezawa米沢牛 | Japanese Black heifers that have not calved. | 32 months or older. | Fattened in the Okitama area (3 cities, 5 towns). About 2,500 head a year. GI registered on 3 March 2017. [Handbook 2021] |
| Hida飛騨牛 | Japanese Black from Gifu. | About 28–30 months on average. Yield A or B, quality 3 or higher. | About 10,000 head a year. Exported to 13 countries and regions. [Handbook 2021] |
A dash means the entry was not confirmed in our reading of the handbook. It does not mean there is no rule.
Kobe's definition has moved
Kobe beef got its name in the 1860s. After Yokohama opened to foreign trade in 1859, cattle shipped from Kobe to feed the foreign residents became famous for their meat. They were Tajima heifers fattened on barley. Before the war, the name was used only for pure Tajima heifers. After the war it came to include steers. [Enoki 2008]
In 1983 the Kobe Meat Distribution Promotion Council was founded and wrote a formal definition. Japan's carcass grades changed in 1988. Enoki (2008) says Kobe then required BMS No.7 or higher. The 2021 handbook gives BMS No.6 or higher, plus the 499.9 kg weight cap. [Enoki 2008] [Handbook 2021]
Between fiscal 2017 and 2019, the handbook reports, roughly 82–87% of certified Tajima beef also qualified as Kobe beef. These figures were read from a printed table. [Handbook 2021]
Where the famous names came from
Matsusaka: In the Edo and Meiji periods, Tajima-born heifers were raised in Kishu (Wakayama) and sold as work cattle to farms on the Ise plain. Fattening them before resale, and later deliberately, created the Matsusaka style. By the 2000s Enoki found that only a minority of Matsusaka heifers came from Hyogo. [Enoki 2008]
Omi (once called Gōshū): Omi merchants drove cattle to Yokohama and sold them as "Kobe" beef. In 1893 a cattle-plague outbreak stopped live transport, so dressed carcasses were shipped from Hachiman station. Tokyo buyers then learned that much "Kobe" beef was really from Shiga. The name changed to Omi in 1967, because Gōshū sounded like the Japanese word for Australia. Before the war, most of its cattle were Tajima-born. [Enoki 2008]
Hida, Maesawa and Miyagi: Each built its reputation on Tajima-born bulls. See Bloodlines. [Enoki 2008]
Brands and taste
Mark Schatzker ate Kobe, Matsusaka, Gunma and other brands. In his account the flavour differences were small, and the differences he did notice were in tenderness and juiciness. He thought Matsusaka might be sweeter than Kobe, but he does not claim this as science. It is one traveller's impression, not a tasting panel. [Schatzker]
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