Eating meat from four legged
animals was prohibited in Japan for more than a thousand years prior to 1868.
This ban was especially strict during the Edo Period (1603-1867). Buddhist
influences were primarily responsible for this dietary restriction, but other
cultural factors and the need to protect draught animals in times of famine may
have reinforced the taboo. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new leaders
of Japan wanted, among other things, to reduce traditional social barriers and
to encourage the adoption of beneficial Western habits. There may also have been
a desire to weaken the power of the Buddhists. Lifting the ban on the eating of
meat was a small step towards these objectives. Nevertheless, it must have
astounded the nobility of the day to see the young Emperor Meiji eating beef.
Meiji (1852-1912), emperor of Japan (1867-1912), born Prince Mutsuhito and the
122nd emperor in the traditional count, whose accession to the throne marked the
beginning of a national revolution known as the Meiji Restoration.
Despite the formal rescinding of the prohibition against the eating of meat in
the late 1860’s, the consumption of meat remained extremely low for another
century. Until very recent times meat (niku in Japanese) usually meant pork in
eastern Japan (roughly from Tokyo to Hokkaido) and beef in western Japan (from
Nagoya/Osaka to Kyushu). Historically, and even today, the people of the Kinki
Region (Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka) have been the heaviest beef eaters.
For millennia the people of Japan lived on a diet of rice, vegetables, and
seafood eaten with hashi (chopsticks). Although the meat taboo was removed over
a hundred years earlier, by 1980 the average Japanese ate only 5.1 kg of beef
(carcass weight basis). In some Western countries, where income levels are
comparable with those in Japan, the average person commonly devours ten times
this quantity each year. Although the younger generation has grown up with
Western cuisine, knife and fork, most Japanese still enjoy beef best when it is
prepared as very thin slices, cooked in the traditional manner and eaten with
hashi.
From about 1955 onwards, the mechanization of rice cultivation led to an
increase in the availability of beef, as large numbers of draught cattle were
fattened and slaughtered. At the same time the rapid economic growth, which
started with the Korean War boom, was gaining momentum. People could afford the
luxury of meat more often.
Wagyu in Cows in Matsusaka are bought in Tajima (Hyogo), Shimane and Shikoku.
There is no breeding in Matsusaka.
The Origins of Kobe Beef
The creation of genuine Kobe (or Matsuzaka or Omi) beef is a mystical folk art
which may have been practiced as an underground cult before 1868. Some sources
claim that certain daimyo and even some shoguns enjoyed especially fattened beef
from Hihone hab (now Shiga Prefecture, the home of Omi beef). Most Japanese
believe, however, that the art of producing Omi, Matusaka, or Kobe beef cannot
be traced back to feudal times.
Kobe beef traditionally comes from Wagyu cattle. “Wa” is a very old Japanese
language term for Japan, or things Japanese, and one of the meanings of “gyu” is
beef, with an “on the hoof” connotation. There are four commercial breeds of
Wagyu.
These four breeds are now considered indigenous to Japan, but are not genuinely
native cattle. There are two isolated populations of native cattle in existence.
The Mishima wild cattle on Mishima Island (located in the Sea of Japan off
Yamaguchi Prefecture) have never been crossed with modern European breeds. While
they represent a genuine genetic curiosity, as of 1983 there were fewer than 40
head. The second, and more numerous, are a group of wild cattle on Kuchinoshima
Island south-west of Kagoshima Prefecture. The progenitors of both the Mishima
and Kuchinoshima cattle were probably brought to Japan by the ancestors of the
modern Japanese people more than 2,000 years ago. Biochemical and genetic tests
indicate that the native cattle are more closely related to the cattle of
Northern Europe and Scandanavia than they are to the cattle indigenous to
Taiwan, the Philippines, and other South East Asian Countries.
The four modern Japanese breeds are the result of a substantial infusion of
European blood during the Meiji Era, together with a government-sponsored
selection programme initiated in 1919. For several decades prior to 1910, there
was a great interest in importing European breeds to cross with native cattle.
The basic aim was to improve the native strains for draught purposes, but better
meat production was also a consideration. Exotic breeds were extremely popular
and the price of pure-bred and cross-bred exotic animals often reached
unreasonable levels, until the bubble burst in 1910. After this date, the
importation of European breeds went out of fashion.
After World War I, the Japanese Government decided to encourage the selection
and registration of cattle exhibiting superior traits of both native and foreign
types. There was a considerable gene pool to draw upon, as a wide range of
European blood had been introduced to Japan. This variation, together with the
original differences among the native cattle, permitted selection according to
different criteria in various parts of the country. After World War II, the
National Government moved to rationalize the registration process and formally
recognized three major Wagyu types or breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown,
and Japanese Poll. The National Wagyu Cattle Registration Association was
established in 1948.
The Japanese Black breed included several fairly distinct types, and this is
still the case today (e.g. Tottori, Tajima, and Hiroshima strains). The Japanese
Shorthorn was not formally established until 1957.
After careful selection and breeding over the last five decades, there are
slight differences in the concept of the “true type” for each breed, but many
similarities. All four breeds have been selected for beef production alone for
more than forty years. In all four breeds the aim is to produce a medium-sized,
beef-type animal. All of the breeds are humpless but the bulls tend to develop a
marked crest. While the ideal mature body weight and height at the withers
differ marginally between the four breeds, the targets for the Japanese Black
are typical.
While it is hard to generalize, two traits of the Japanese Black often cited as
disadvantageous are their narrow pin bones and their relatively poor milking
capacity. The narrow pin bones create calving difficulties if the cows are
crossed with bulls of the large-framed European breeds (such as Holstein or
Charolais). The poor milking ability increases the costs of raising feeder
calves since the calves often need artificial supplements.
On the other hand, the Japanese Blacks (in particular the Tajima strain) are
noted for their capacity to produce beef with a high degree of fat marbling (or
sashi). It is this characteristic more than any other which accounts for the
steady increase in the popularity of the Japanese Black breed.
According to the website of the California BBQ Association, "In order to protect
its domestic beef industry, the Japanese government imposed strict laws that
prohibited the export of any living Japanese Wagyu cattle. However, in 1976,
four Wagyu animals were imported into the U.S.: two Tottori Black Wagyu and two
Kumamoto Red Wagyu bulls. Then in 1993, two male and three female Tajima cattle
were imported, and 35 male and female cattle (consisting of both red and black
Wagyu) were imported in 1994.
"Most Kobe Beef today is bred and raised in California and Australia. For
example, Harris Ranch in California is contracted with beef producers in Kobe to
breed and raise their cattle in California, where land and grain is relatively
inexpensive. The cattle is raised and fed under the exacting specifications for
Kobe Beef. When the cattle is almost ready for slaughter, it is shipped to Kobe,
Japan, where its feeding is completed, and the cattle is slaughtered.
Welcome to 1-800-Kobe Beef. Com.
In Japan the top grade of beef is called A5.
The cattle are fed for 500-600 days and have a
controlled daily weight gain of 0.8kg compared
to domestic cattle 1.8 to 2.4kg daily gain.
The result of this is the composition of the
meat and flavor is dramatically different to
other cattle produced in the world. Wagyu have
about 70% monounsaturated fatty acids
specifically oleic and stearic acid. These
monounsaturated fatty acids have two properties
of importance to the meat. Firstly, they have a
very low melting point (less than 7 degrees
Celsius), which means that the beef literally
“melts in your mouth“. This results in the
sweetest, most succulent beef you will ever
taste. Our Japanese Wagyu Beef has unique smell,
texture, tenderness and flavor that up until
now, was only available in Japan.
Kobe beef is famous for its superior flavor
and tender, fatty texture, is normally reserved
for the fanciest restaurants. Imported from
Japan, this beef has become the stuff of legend
and is the source of $ 500 steaks and $75
burgers in some of the more upscale chop houses.
Kobe beef is a specialty at 1-800-kobebeef.com,
where selecting the finest cuts of beef has
always been not only a passion, but a
commitment. 1-800-Steaks.Com and
1-800-KobeBeef.Com offers several cuts
of Kobe beef for the sophisticated palate.
Kobe beef has long been the favorite of top
chefs and food connoisseurs because its rich
flavor is unmatched. Extra-thick marbling is the
secret behind the meat's sublime taste.
It's easy to buy Kobe beef at
1-800-Kobebeef.Com! Kobe Beef offerings include
chateaubriand, filet mignon, new york steak, rib eye
steak, top sirloin steak and kobe hamburgers. Try the
Kobe Beef sampler to experience
all our flavorful melt-in-your-mouth cuts. The
sampler includes two steaks of each cut.
