Meat
Japanese Black
S tier
Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) is the principal Wagyu beef breed of Japan, accounting for the large majority of pure Japanese Wagyu and famed for extreme intramuscular marbling, soft fat with a low melting point, and intensely buttery, umami-rich beef. Regional bloodlines such as Tajima, Kedaka, and Fujiyoshi shape carcass style, with Tajima-type cattle central to Kobe and other premium branded beef. Cattle are black-coated and typically smaller framed than Western beef breeds, finished on carefully controlled grain-based rations after forage rearing. Japanese Black beef is graded under the JMGA system for yield and marbling and is among the most expensive and sought-after beef types worldwide.
Also known as: Tajima
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Regional black draft cattle in western Japan were kept for farm work under isolation policies that limited foreign breeding stock.
The Meiji Restoration opened Japan to limited European crossbreeding that influenced later improved native black cattle.
Japanese Black was officially recognised as a purebred improved Wagyu type distinct from other native cattle.
Intensive marbling-focused selection and regional brand programmes elevated Japanese Black to global luxury status.
Export restrictions and national genetic conservation policies tightly controlled pure Japanese Black genetics abroad.
Fullblood and purebred Japanese Black herds outside Japan expanded premium Wagyu production under JMGA-inspired grading.