The short answer: Miyazaki Wagyu (Miyazaki-gyu) is Japanese Black cattle born in Miyazaki prefecture, sired by Miyazaki-approved bulls, raised there for most of its life, and graded meat quality 4 or higher. Both A4 and A5 qualify. Miyazaki has won the Prime Minister's Award at Japan's national Wagyu show five times, a record.
What is Miyazaki Wagyu?
Miyazaki Wagyu, or Miyazaki-gyu (宮崎牛), is a regional brand of Japanese Black beef from Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu. Its registered definition has four parts [1]:
| Rule | Miyazaki beef |
|---|---|
| Breed | Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) |
| Bloodline | Sired by a bull kept in Miyazaki and progeny-tested there, or approved by the prefecture's breeding committee |
| Where | Born in Miyazaki, and raised there longer than anywhere else |
| Grade | JMGA meat quality grade 4 or higher |
Note what's missing: no yield grade and no BMS minimum. A4 and A5 both qualify, as do B4 and B5 [1]. "A5 Miyazaki" on a menu is a claim about one carcass, not about the brand.
The name is protected. Miyazaki beef was registered as a Geographical Indication in Japan in 2017, and the producers' council that certifies it has run since 1986 [1].
Why is Miyazaki Wagyu so well known?
Prizes. Every five years Japan holds a national Wagyu show, often called the Wagyu Olympics, where prefectures compete with breeding cattle and carcasses. Miyazaki won the Prime Minister's Award, the top honor, in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022, and no other prefecture has won it at four events in a row [1][2]. The 2022 award was for fat quality, a category added that year [2].
The next show is in 2027, held in Hokkaido for the first time [3]. That's where our farm is.
Those wins came either side of a hard loss. A foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2010 led to about 290,000 animals being culled in the prefecture [4].
How traceable is Miyazaki Wagyu?
Back to the animal, if you're given its 10-digit ID. Every cow in Japan has one, and the National Livestock Breeding Center's registry returns its breed, birth date and every move to slaughter [7]. What it doesn't always return is the farm: the registry shows a keeper's name only if the keeper agreed to it [5].
In practice, the brand is the traceability most buyers get. Some importers and restaurants make a point of naming the farm, but most of the time that's lost somewhere between the farm and the plate. "Miyazaki" tells you the prefecture, the bloodline and a grade floor. It doesn't tell you which of the prefecture's farms raised your steak, what the farm fed, or how the cattle lived, because the definition doesn't cover feed or housing [1]. Japan as a whole imports about 1.6–2.0 million tonnes of hay a year and about 200,000 tonnes of rice straw [6], and the brand rules don't say where a farm's roughage comes from.
How does Miyazaki Wagyu compare with Peak Wagyu?
Both are Japanese Black, born and raised in Japan and graded by the same graders. The difference is how much you know about the animal.
| Miyazaki Wagyu | Peak Wagyu | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Any qualifying farm in Miyazaki [1] | Takeda Farm, Asahikawa, Hokkaido |
| Grade | Quality 4 or higher [1] | A4, BMS 6 |
| The animal | 10-digit ID, if the seller passes it on | Takemitsu-chan, ID 1493019197, grading certificate published |
| The farm | Not part of the brand; rarely named | Named, and we've visited |
| Feed | Not set by the brand [1] | About half Hokkaido-grown hay, plus oats and rice bran from Asahikawa mochi barley |
| Welfare | Not set by the brand | Spacious barn, every cow named, no growth hormones, sent off before maximum weight |
We sell one cow at a time from one family farm. Ellie Takeda runs it with her mother, Tomoko, and raises her cattle for comfort over the heaviest carcass. The result is beef like Takemitsu-chan: A4, BMS 6, above the ceiling of USDA Prime and lighter than a BMS 10–12 A5, so a whole steak eats well. Read how Wagyu cows are raised for Takeda Farm's side of it.
Where can you buy Miyazaki Wagyu?
Miyazaki Wagyu is sold in the US through importers, restaurants and online shops. When you buy it, ask for the 10-digit ID and the grading certificate, and look the animal up yourself. How to tell if Wagyu is real shows how. Our cow's ID and certificate are on her page, before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
What grade is Miyazaki Wagyu?
Miyazaki beef must grade meat quality 4 or higher on the Japan Meat Grading Association scale. Its registered definition sets no yield-grade or BMS minimum, so A4, A5, B4 and B5 carcasses can all qualify. "A5" is common on US menus but isn't required by the brand.
Is Miyazaki Wagyu better than Kobe beef?
Neither brand is better by definition. Both are Japanese Black graded on the same JMGA scale. Kobe requires BMS 6 or higher and Hyogo origin; Miyazaki requires quality grade 4 or higher and Miyazaki origin. Compare the grade, BMS and animal ID of the steak in front of you.
What is Miyazaki-gyu?
Miyazaki-gyu (宮崎牛) is the Japanese name for Miyazaki beef. "Gyu" means beef. It is a Geographical Indication registered with Japan's Ministry of Agriculture in 2017.
Does Miyazaki Wagyu tell you which farm it came from?
Not by itself. The brand certifies the prefecture, the bloodline and the grade. Every animal has a 10-digit ID you can look up, but Japan's registry shows the farmer's name only with the farmer's consent, and sellers rarely name the farm.
Sources
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), GI register No. 55, "宮崎牛 (Miyazaki-gyu)" (2017)
- Miyazaki Prefecture, results of the 12th National Wagyu Ability Show (2022)
- Hokkaido Prefecture, 13th National Wagyu Ability Show, Hokkaido 2027
- MAFF, foot-and-mouth disease response record (2010 Miyazaki outbreak)
- MAFF, sample screen and disclosure rules for the cattle traceability lookup
- MAFF, "飼料をめぐる情勢" (feed situation), September 2026
- National Livestock Breeding Center, individual cattle identification lookup
