Matt and Ellie with Takemitsu-chan
- 24 months old
- Raised slowly and with care for health and quality, Takemitsu-chan was slaughtered at 24 months: longer than Angus cows but earlier than traditional Wagyu, for quality of life.
- A-4
- Officially graded by the Japanese Meat Grading Association after slaughter, with high marks in yield, quality, and color and with a balance of fat (BMS 6).
- No antibiotics
- Just local Hokkaido hay, snowmelt from the Daisetsuzan mountain range, space, and time.
Carcass grading
- Grade
- A-4
- BMS
- 6
- Breed
- Kuroge Washu (Japanese Black)
- Sex
- Female
- Carcass Weight
- 468.2 kg
- Ribeye area
- 51 cm²
- Rib thickness
- 7.7 cm
- Graded Date
- 2026-03-02
- Graded At
- Himeji (JMGA)
- Producer
- Takeda Co. ((株)タケダ)
- Carcass #
- 3469
- Individual ID
- 1493019197
It's sad to think that your cow, that you are raising every day with love, is going to be shipped out; I always cry when the cow goes on the truck. On the other hand, your cow has passed you a baton of life. We each have to eat to live—even plants, fish, and vegetables—everything that we eat was living. We receive their baton of life, so we have to live our life to the fullest. Let's be happy that we can eat, and be grateful for all the food and the people who are raising it.
Takeda Farm sits at the foot of the Daisetsuzan mountain range in Hokkaido. With their 30+ years of experience in Wagyu genetics and the intense winter of Hokkaido, they raise well loved cows and beef of the highest quality.
Ellie's father, Tetsuo, spent his career teaching Wagyu embryo transfer to farms across Hokkaido before starting his own herd — just six cows — at the base of the Daisetsuzan mountains. He earned his veterinarian's license, raised his family, and built what is now Takeda Farm, one relationship at a time.
He's since passed. Ellie and her mother, Tomoko-san, run the farm together now.
Matt and Ellie at the farm
Tomoko-san, who runs the farm with Ellie
Just like with embryo transfer, my father's work was preserving the cattle's genetics — passing the baton of life. So I want to somehow take that baton from him, and do my best to carry it on to what comes next.
It's why Ellie focuses so much on appreciating the animals she raises:
I've stopped saying “I'm sorry” and started saying “thank you.” Receiving a life means passing the baton of life.
