Image: Wikimedia Commons
Maesawa Beef is a branded beef name reserved for Japanese Black cattle raised in Maesawa, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, that meet a meat quality grade of 4 or higher. Production of Japanese Black cattle began in the 1950s, when breeding cows were introduced from Okayama and Shimane prefectures, and full-scale fattening started in earnest after the Maesawa Town Agricultural Cooperative's fattening division was established in 1965. The name 'Maesawa Beef' was first used at the Maesawa Beef Carcass Competition held in 1971, and it has been established as a brand ever since. Blessed with snowmelt water flowing down from the Ou Mountains and the Kitakami Highlands, the Maesawa area is also a fine rice-growing region, and a nature-cycle style of fattening that uses locally grown rice straw as roughage and bedding produces the fine marbling and moist texture the beef is known for. Maesawa Beef has won the Grand Prize a record six times at the National Wagyu Carcass Competition, earning it recognition as one of the finest wagyu brands in Japan.
Origin
Production of Maesawa Beef traces back to the 1950s, when breeding cows were introduced from Okayama and Shimane prefectures to begin raising Japanese Black calves locally. When the Maesawa Town Agricultural Cooperative was established in 1965, a dedicated fattening division was set up, and full-scale fattening began. The name 'Maesawa Beef' is said to have been used for the first time at the 'Maesawa Beef Carcass Competition' held in 1971.
History
Iwate Furusato Agricultural Cooperative (JA Iwate Furusato) later trademarked the name 'Maesawa Beef,' establishing it as a brand limited to Japanese Black cattle raised within Maesawa, Oshu City and shipped through the cooperative, with a meat quality grade of 4 or higher. Maesawa Beef has won the Grand Prize a record six times at the National Wagyu Carcass Competition, raising its reputation as one of Japan's top wagyu-producing areas.
Features
The Maesawa area is a fine rice-growing region blessed with abundant snowmelt water flowing from the Ou Mountains and the Kitakami Highlands, and it practices a nature-cycle style of fattening in which rice straw left over from the harvest is used as roughage and bedding, with the resulting compost returned to the paddies and fields. Carefully selecting clean, high-quality rice straw for feed produces the fine marbling and moist texture that characterize the beef.
Main Ingredients
Famous Shops
前沢牛肉料理 味心
岩手県奥州市前沢塔ケ崎102-4
A one-minute walk from Maesawa Station. Run directly by Ogata Farm, serving grilled beef, steak, shabu-shabu and more. Lunch from around 2,000 yen, dinner from around 4,000 yen.
View details →和風れすとらん 牛の里
岩手県奥州市前沢向田1丁目5
A Maesawa Beef specialty restaurant founded in 1989 (Heisei 1). Offers dishes such as the Maesawa Beef tasting course for 7,700 yen.
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