Guides
What becomes visible when you line up brand definitions and count them. Every figure is calculated from the same data as the brand pages.
Does Kobe beef have to be A5? We counted the grading rules of 100 Japanese beef brands
"A5" is the result of carcass grading, not the name of a brand. Whether beef may carry a brand name is decided by each brand's managing body or its Geographical Indication specification. Counting the definitions of the 100 beef brands on this site, just 1 requires meat quality grade 5 (A5 or B5).
What makes jidori jidori? 26 Japanese chicken brands side by side
Japan's JAS standard for jidori sets four things: native-breed blood, rearing period, floor housing and stocking density. Brand rules are not copies of it. Lining up the 26 chicken brands on this site, both how strict they are and what they choose to regulate differ from brand to brand.
Matsusaka, Kobe, Omi, Yonezawa: what each famous wagyu name actually requires
There is no official list of Japan's "top three wagyu"; which brands make the list depends on who is writing it. Here are the four names that come up most often, with the conditions each must meet to carry its name, taken from the primary sources. Sex, how the place of origin is defined, age and grading: each brand regulates a different combination of these.
Heifers, steers, or anything? The sex rules of 100 Japanese beef brands
Matsusaka Ushi must be a heifer; Kobe beef must be a heifer or a steer. Such rules are well known, but counting the 100 beef brands on this site, only 29 set any condition on sex; the other 71 have none in their definition.
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Where must Japanese brand beef be raised? We counted the region rules of 100 brands
Brand beef rules describe the region in different ways. Of the 100 brands in this guide, 14 say the region must be where the animal was raised longest and finished, 9 say where it was raised longest, 11 say where it was fattened, and 6 say where it was raised. 39 use other wording, and 21 set no region at all.
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How old is Japanese brand beef? We counted the age rules of 100 brands
Of the 100 beef brands in this guide, 28 set an age or a fattening period. 17 set a minimum age in months, and 7 set a maximum. The other 72 set neither an age nor a fattening period.
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Same body, different brands: how 31 Japanese meat brands from 13 bodies differ
A single council or agricultural cooperative sometimes issues several brands with different conditions. In this guide, 13 bodies issue 31 brands between them. Their conditions are set side by side below, body by body. There are also 12 pairs where one brand is part of another, or comes from another brand's cattle.
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What counts as wagyu? Four breeds, born and raised in Japan — and how 100 beef brands break down
"Wagyu" is a matter of breed, not of place. Under the Ministry of Agriculture's guideline, only meat from Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled cattle and their crosses, born and raised in Japan, may be labelled wagyu. Of the 100 beef brands in this guide, 87 require a wagyu breed and 11 are not wagyu (crossbred or dairy cattle).
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What makes a Japanese pork brand? We counted the rules of 38 brands
Of the 100 beef brands in this guide, 68 require a carcass grade. Of the 38 pork brands, only 8 do. The most common pork condition is feed (29 brands), and just 3 set an age at shipment.
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What is kurobuta? Japan's "black pork" labelling rule and its 3 Berkshire brands
Under the Ministry of Agriculture's labelling guideline, only pork from purebred Berkshire pigs may be labelled kurobuta (black pork). Of the 38 pork brands in this guide, 3 require purebred Berkshire, and 3 more mention Berkshire in their breed description.