Wagyu Beef Loved Around the World

The taste of a cow is determined by its pedigree. History tells us why. Originally bred for agriculture, the demand for Wagyu cattle increased as a result of civilization’s enlightenment during the Meiji period (1868-1912). As a result, Wagyu cattle were actively crossbred with foreign breeds in various regions in an effort to make them as large as their foreign counterparts. However, the breeding process failed, as the cattle became rough and the meat quality deteriorated. After the end of World War II, there was a movement to restore the original Wagyu breed, but the number of hybrids increased so much that purebred Wagyu cattle became extinct. Miraculously, however, “Tajiri-go” was born from among four cattle living in Ojiroku, Kami-machi, Hyogo Prefecture, and became a sire bull, leaving behind about 1,500 offspring. Since then, breeding has been carried out with careful management of bloodlines like thoroughbreds, and as a result, brand beef with better meat quality has been produced in various parts of Japan, and “WAGYU” has become loved not only in Japan but also by food connoisseurs around the world.

Buying Hida beef from a single source is a three-way street

Hida beef, one of the most popular beef brands in Japan, is defined as Japanese black cattle raised for 14 months or longer in Gifu Prefecture and having a meat quality grade of 3 or higher. The meat is tender and fine-textured, with a mellow aroma that spreads in the mouth. It is also characterized by a rich, full-bodied meat with a refreshing aftertaste. Kiminori Fukao, who runs Bakuro Ichidai, a restaurant specializing in Hida beef in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, and Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, took over the meat business from his predecessor and has been earnestly dealing with Hida beef since its establishment in 1969. While many yakiniku restaurants purchase specific parts of Hida beef such as loin and fillet, Mr. Fukao insists on “buying a whole cow” in order to expand his knowledge and protect Hida beef farmers. Mr. Fukao has expanded his knowledge and insists on buying only one head of Hida beef to protect Hida beef farmers. However, it is not easy to raise a cow that is recognized as Hida beef, and from the farmer’s point of view, our role is to buy a whole cow and convey the appeal of all parts to our customers. This will enhance the brand value of Hida beef and lead to local production for local consumption. By purchasing a whole cow, customers can enjoy rare parts of Hida beef at reasonable prices on the lunch and dinner menus, and the farmer and the restaurant can be protected. Both the seller and the buyer are satisfied, and the restaurant contributes to the local industry.

Hida beef professionals have earned the trust of the one and only

Many customers come to Bakuro Ichiyo to enjoy Hida beef because Mr. Fukao is the best connoisseur of Hida beef and knows how to cook it to bring out its best potential. The meat is cut at just the right thickness and angle to distinguish it from that of ordinary yakiniku restaurants, even if it is the same grade and part of the same meat. Bakuro, from which the restaurant’s name comes, refers to a merchant who acts as an intermediary for cattle and horses. As a chef and buyer, Mr. Fukao visits Hida beef farms on numerous occasions, and as a result of his many years of careful evaluation of Hida beef, he has more than 200 Hida beef farmers with whom he has business relationships. At the entrance of the store, there are impressive tags engraved with the names of the farmers with whom we do business. We have a large number of farmers with whom we do business, but we do not purchase without restraint. In that sense, I think we are able to find good cattle because we have met good people who take pride in raising Hida beef,” Fukao said. Mr. Fukao has become a person whom the farmers look up to. They can trust Mr. Fukao with the cattle they have carefully raised. Mr. Fukao is the one and only person who can accept the feelings of the parents and convey those feelings in the form of “delicious taste and trust” to the consumers. It is with this in mind that the farmers, who are also producers, choose to dine at Mr. Fukao’s restaurant.

For 50 years since its establishment in Gifu, the birthplace of Hida beef, Mr. Fukao has worked diligently to earn the trust of his customers and to be loved by them. He says that for the next 100 years, he would like to carry the Hida beef sign and the thoughts of all the people involved with Hida beef on his shoulders. He looked straight at us and we could clearly see a future where Hida beef will continue to be a beloved brand of beef representing Japan.

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The post Identifying Truly Delicious Hida Beef / Chef Kiminori Fukao / Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Adatara-yama’s Great Nature Nurtures High-Quality Fukushima Beef

In recent years, Fukushima beef has gained a reputation for its high quality. In Otama Village at the foot of Mt. Adatara, there is a man known as the driving force behind this trend. Otama Village, at the foot of Mt. Hironao Suzuki, who has won numerous awards at cattle fairs and is known as one of the leading producers in the prefecture, says, “Water, air, and high-quality rice straw are the conditions for raising delicious cows.

Mt. Adatara, which was described as “the real sky” in Kotaro Takamura’s “Chieko Sho” (Chieko’s Book of Poems). The gently sloping ridgeline landed at the end of the mountain, where a countryside spread out. Hironao Suzuki and his wife run a livestock business in a corner of the rice paddies. Hidetoshi Nakata was invited into the guest room of Mr. Suzuki’s house, looked at the bundles of ears of rice on the wall, and asked, “What is so special about these rice straws? Does this straw have any special meaning?” It is 50 years’ worth of rice ears that Mr. Suzuki has harvested since he started farming at the age of 20. It was about the same time I started raising cattle, so it’s been half a century.”

There are two types of beef cattle farmers: breeding farmers, who raise calves until they are about 9 to 10 months old, and fattening farmers, who raise them for about 20 months. Mr. Suzuki is a fattening farmer of the latter type and is known as a representative producer in Fukushima Prefecture. 2017, he won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award at the Beef Cattle Carcass Kyoreikai organized by the National Beef Cattle Promotion Fund Association. In the same year, he also won the highest honorary award at the 19th Zenno-Nohshi Eda Nikkyo Reikai, as well as numerous other awards.
The aroma is good, and the fat is not too greasy, which is a characteristic of Fukushima beef,” said Mr. Suzuki, who is modest about his own achievements.
Although Mr. Suzuki is modest about his own achievements, he is proud to say that the quality of the beef he has raised with great care is something he can boast of to the world.

Taking on the Challenge of Spreading Wagyu Beef Overseas

It is often said that bloodlines determine the breed of cattle,” Mr. Suzuki replied immediately to Mr. Nakata’s question, “but how do you bring about the unique characteristics common to the Fukushima region?
Originally, each farmer devised his own feed, but because of this, there was a large variation in meat quality. Then, after listening to everyone’s opinions, we standardized the feed. As a result, we were able to improve the quality of the entire region.”
He continues, “Rice straw is one of the most important ingredients in the feed. If you compare it to a human meal, rice straw is the rice, and formula feed is the side dish. No matter how sumptuous the side dish is, it is important to eat a good staple food. The hardness of rice straw varies depending on the variety, but I believe that Koshihikari is the most suitable for cattle ruminating.

While the reputation of Fukushima beef has been growing in recent years, the price of moto-ushi, which could be purchased for 500,000 yen before the earthquake, has skyrocketed to nearly double that. Mr. Suzuki’s sense of crisis was heightened by the fact that farmers are closing their businesses one after another due to the aging of the population. However, when asked how he is responding to the trend toward trade liberalization, with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) coming into effect at the end of last year and the Japan-Europe EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) in February, he looks forward, saying that as a producer he has no choice but to continue producing good cattle.
He replied, “If cheap beef from other countries enters the market, the competition will become even tougher. But I am sure that there will be consumers who will choose good quality and delicious meat.
Nodding his head in agreement, Mr. Nakata encourages producers to see trade liberalization not only as a challenge but also as an opportunity.
When I go abroad, I am asked about Wagyu beef by many people. That’s how interested they are in Japanese beef. This is an opportunity to expand our sales channels overseas, and I think we should go out there more and more.
I don’t think I will be able to retire anytime soon. Mr. Suzuki’s smile is radiant.

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