As the term ‘Wagyu’ means simply ‘Japanese cattle’, a cattle breeder – as well as a connoisseur of the finest beef – needs to know about the variations and tendencies within the breed.

Not all beef cattle in Japan are Wagyu. The most common beef cattle in Japan are Western dairy breeds, primarily Holsteins. Thus, not all beef sold and served in Japan is Wagyu. In contrast, perhaps the most exclusive beef cattle are the legendary Mishima Wagyu, raised in small numbers on the Japanese island of Mishima and never interbred with any foreign cattle. True Mishima beef is highly prized, much sought after and extremely hard to find.

On the main islands of Japan, there are distinct ‘breeds’ of Wagyu, regional variations reflecting local breeding priorities and even the influence of crossbreeding with foreign cattle breeds (a practice that ceased in 1910). These breeds allow us to divide Wagyu broadly into the Red (or Brown) strains of Kochi and Kumamoto, and the Black strains dominated by Tajiri/Nakodoi (Tajima) and Okayama/Tottori lines.

While the Red strains can produce very fine beef, Wagyu beef cattle produced in Japan and elsewhere have been mainly the kuroge or black Wagyu. Among the kuroge strains there are regional variations rooted in the traditional breeding priorities and needs of particular areas.

The Tajima lines, originating in the Kansai region and especially Hyogo Prefecture, are descended from many generations of animals bred for pulling loads. As a result, these Wagyu are characterized by power in the front end, large forequarters with lighter hindquarters. The Tajima lines are renowned for the very best quality beef, although they are often slow growing.

In contrast, cattle developed farther west in the Chugoku region, the Okayama/Tottori lines, were bred to carry loads directly on their backs. Regional breeding practices there produced animals with straight, well-supported backlines. These Wagyu feature fine beef coupled with other desirable traits, such as frame size, faster growth rates and strong maternal qualities.

At Savery Creek Cattle Company, our breeding program features a strong emphasis on Tajima bloodlines to produce superb and highly consistent meat quality. Our Tajima lines feature such great names as Suzutani, Yasufuku Jr., Kikuyasu 400, Takazakura, Shigeshigetani and Fukutsuru 068.

At the same time, we incorporate selectively the best qualities of the finest Okayama and Tottori lines, including manageability and temperament, good growth rates, and most of all, good milk production to insure strong, healthy, fast-growing calves. Our Okayama (Shimane) bloodlines feature such names as Itomichi ½ and Kitaguni Jr. Our Tottori lines include descendants of Dai 20 Hirashige and of Kedaka himself.

While the varying traits of these bloodlines are rooted in Japan’s historical breeding practices, they offer today’s Wagyu breeder
the opportunity to strive for a herd that consistently embodies a balance of these qualities. Our Wagyu feature low calving weights coupled with steady growth, optimal frame size, manageability, good maternal traits and, most of all, Wagyu beef of unsurpassed flavor and tenderness.

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1. Researchers have recently estimated that the Mishima cattle were isolated from other Japanese cattle at some point between 1778 and 1846, before the introduction of Western breeds in the late 1800s. See Nagamine, Y., et. al., “Estimation of the Time of Divergence between Japanese Mishima Island Cattle and Other Cattle Populations Using Microsatellite DNA Markers”, Journal of Heredity, Vol. 99 Issue 2, (Mar/Apr2008): p202-207.