The short answer: Wagyu beef comes from Japan's four native cattle breeds, and "Wagyu" literally means "Japanese cattle." More than 98% of Japanese Wagyu is Japanese Black, a breed that stores unusual amounts of fat inside the muscle. That fat sits in fine flecks and melts at 64–80°F, which makes the beef rich, tender and sweet-smelling when cooked.
What does "Wagyu" mean?
Wagyu means "Japanese cattle": wa refers to Japan, and gyu means cattle [1]. In Japan the word has a narrow meaning. Only four native breeds, plus crosses among them, count as Japanese Wagyu, and breeding them with foreign cattle is prohibited [2].
Outside Japan the word stretches further. A steak sold as "Wagyu" in the US may come from a cross between Wagyu and Angus, raised on another continent. Both can be good beef, but they are different animals. American vs. Japanese Wagyu covers that split in detail.
What are the four Wagyu breeds?
The four breeds are Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled [2]. One of them makes up nearly all of it.
| Breed | Where it's mainly raised | Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) | Most of Japan's prefectures [3] | More than 98% of Japanese Wagyu [2]; about 1.6 million head in 2017 [4] |
| Japanese Brown | Kumamoto and Kochi [3] | About 21,000 head in 2017 [4] |
| Japanese Shorthorn | Iwate, Aomori, Akita and Hokkaido [3] | — |
| Japanese Polled | Yamaguchi [3] | The smallest population of the four [3] |
When a restaurant, a grading certificate or a shopping site says "Japanese Wagyu," it almost always means Japanese Black. The other three are raised in far smaller numbers, mostly in a few regions [3][4].
What are Japanese Black cattle?
Japanese Black is the breed behind the marbled beef most people picture when they hear "Wagyu." In the early 1900s, Japan crossed its native cattle with imported European breeds to make them bigger. It then stopped crossbreeding, bred the cattle only among themselves, and recognized Japanese Black as a breed in 1944 [4].
What sets the breed apart is where it stores fat. Japanese Black cattle lay down very large amounts of fat inside the muscle [4], as fine flecks the Japanese call sashi. That is the marbling you see in a cut ribeye.
Genetics are one part. Time and feed are the other. Japanese Wagyu is fed a carefully formulated concentrated feed for longer than beef cattle from other countries [2]. Japanese Black cattle are usually fed a high-concentrate diet from about 11 months of age to about 30 months, and in 2017 they were slaughtered at 29.2 months on average [4]. The point of that long, rich diet is to build fat inside the muscle [4], which is why marbled Wagyu takes years to make. How are Wagyu cows raised? follows one cow from birth to harvest.
Our current cow is one of them. Japan's national cattle registry lists Takemitsu-chan, ID 1493019197, as a female Japanese Black born on February 9, 2024, in Hokkaido [5]. She was raised at Takeda Farm in Asahikawa, and you can look her up yourself in that registry.
What does Wagyu taste like?
Japanese Wagyu tastes rich, tender and savory, with fat that turns soft on your tongue. Three things account for it.
| What you notice | What causes it |
|---|---|
| It melts in your mouth | The fat melts at about 64–80°F (18–27°C), close to body temperature [2] |
| Fat in every bite | Marbling runs through the whole muscle in fine flecks, not in a few thick seams |
| A sweet smell as it cooks | Wagyu-ko, an aroma usually likened to peach or coconut, which builds from about 140°F (60°C) and peaks near 176°F (80°C) [2] |
Ellie Takeda, who raised our current cow, describes it as "the beef that melts in your mouth — even in your hands."
The low melting point comes from the kind of fat. About half the fat in Japanese Black beef is oleic acid, the same monounsaturated fat that dominates olive oil [6]. What makes Peak Wagyu special? sets it side by side with Angus, and our FAQ has the short version.
It's also much richer than an American steak. Plan on about 4–8 oz per person, against an 8–12 oz Angus steak; our A4 eats well at the top of that range or beyond. For how to cook it, start with our cooking guide.
Is all Wagyu beef from Japan?
No. Between 1976 and 1997, an estimated 221 Wagyu cattle left Japan [7], and most Wagyu raised in other countries descends from that small group, usually crossed with local breeds such as Angus. Japanese Wagyu is born, raised, graded and processed in Japan.
Three things set Japanese Wagyu apart on paper:
- A grade. A certified grader from the Japan Meat Grading Association scores each carcass for yield (A to C) and quality (1 to 5), with marbling on its own 12-step scale called BMS [8]. A5 Wagyu: what the grades mean explains the full chart.
- A registry ID. Every animal carries a 10-digit ID from birth, and anyone can look up its birth date, breed and every farm it lived on [5]. How to tell if Wagyu is real walks through a lookup.
- A region, sometimes. Kobe, for example, is one regional brand of Japanese Wagyu, not a breed. Kobe beef vs. Wagyu sorts the names out.
Where does Peak Wagyu's Wagyu come from?
Ours comes from one cow at a time, from Takeda Farm in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, a family farm we've visited. The current drop is Takemitsu-chan: Japanese Black, 24 months old at harvest, carcass number 3469, graded A4, BMS 6 [8]. BMS 6 is above the ceiling of USDA Prime, which sits at about BMS 5 [9].
We sell every cut she yielded, from the ribeye to the zabuton, and close the drop when she's gone. What makes Peak Wagyu special? tells the farm's story. For the cuts themselves, see Japanese Wagyu cuts, by name, and for the price, Why is Wagyu so expensive?
Frequently asked questions
What does the word Wagyu mean?
Wagyu means "Japanese cattle." Wa refers to Japan and gyu means cattle. In Japan the word covers four native breeds, Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled, plus crosses among those four.
What breed is Wagyu?
Wagyu is four breeds, not one. Japanese Black is by far the largest, at more than 98% of Japanese Wagyu. Japanese Brown is raised mainly in Kumamoto and Kochi, Japanese Shorthorn in northern Japan and Hokkaido, and Japanese Polled, the smallest, in Yamaguchi.
What does Wagyu taste like?
Rich, tender and savory. Its fat melts at 64–80°F (18–27°C), so it softens on your tongue, and when cooked it gives off a sweet aroma the Japanese call wagyu-ko, usually likened to peach or coconut.
Is all Wagyu from Japan?
No. An estimated 221 Wagyu cattle left Japan between 1976 and 1997, and most Wagyu raised elsewhere descends from them, usually crossed with Angus. Japanese Wagyu is born, raised and graded in Japan, and each animal has a 10-digit ID anyone can look up.
Is Peak Wagyu's beef Japanese Black?
Yes. Our current cow, Takemitsu-chan, is a Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) raised at Takeda Farm in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. She graded A4 with BMS 6, and her national registry ID is 1493019197.
Sources
- Tsujimoto, "Literature Review on Establishment of Japanese Black Cattle (Wagyu) and Future Prospects of Its Industry," University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest thesis (2019)
- JFOODO / JETRO, "Increase Sales of Japanese Wagyu by Learning About It"
- JFOODO, "Japanese Wagyu Educational Seminar in NY" (2021)
- Gotoh, Nishimura, Kuchida and Mannen, "The Japanese Wagyu beef industry: current situation and future prospects — A review," Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 31(7) (2018)
- National Livestock Breeding Center, individual cattle identification lookup
- Obana et al., "Effects of Oleic Acid and Intramuscular Fat Levels on Retronasal Aromas in Wagyu Beef from Japanese Black Cattle," Foods (2026), National Livestock Breeding Center
- Australian Wagyu Association, "30 Years of the Australian Wagyu Association" (2019)
- Japan Meat Grading Association, beef carcass grading standards
- Snake River Farms, "Deep Dive into SRF Beef Grades" (maps BMS 5 to USDA Prime)
