# Kobe beef
**Kobe beef** (神戸ビーフ, also written 神戸肉 or 神戸牛) is a certified brand of Japanese wagyu beef produced exclusively from Tajima cattle raised in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and meeting strict grading standards for marbling, meat quality, yield, and carcass weight.[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html) It is registered under Japan's geographical indication system as Registration No. 3, with the registered names 神戸ビーフ (Kobe Beef), 神戸肉 (Kobe Niku), 神戸牛 (Kobe Gyu), and KOBE BEEF.[2](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s3.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source cattle | Purebred Tajima cattle (a strain of Japanese Black), bred and fattened in Hyogo Prefecture, slaughtered there, aged above 28 and under 60 months[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html) |
| Grading thresholds | Meat quality score 4 or above; yield score A or B; Beef Marbling Standard (BMS) level 6 or higher[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html) |
| Carcass weight | 270–499.9 kg for a cow; 300–499.9 kg for a steer[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html) |
| Certification body | Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association, established September 1983[3](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef) |
| Market share | Certified Kobe beef represents less than 0.2% of the total beef market in Japan[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef) |
| Official mark | The "Japanese chrysanthemum" seal, stamped only on beef officially certified as Kobe Beef[5](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/criteria.html) |
| GI registration | Registration No. 3 under Japan's geographical indication system, production area Hyogo Prefecture[2](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s3.html) |
## Definition and certification
The official definition was established in September 1983, when the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association was founded by organizations involved in production, distribution, and consumption, in order to unify quality standards.[3](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef) • [6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history) Under the association's bylaws, Kobe Beef must be selected from Tajima Beef as defined in [Article 20](https://www.edgepedia.org/article-20), and the animal must be a heifer or a steer.[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html)
**Tajima cattle requirements.** The seed stock cattle ("moto-ushi") must be Hyogo-produced Tajima cattle; the breeding farm must be in Hyogo Prefecture and registered by the association; the cattle must be bred and fattened in Hyogo Prefecture; and the meat must be processed at slaughterhouses within the prefecture. Tajima Beef itself must grade A or B at rank 2 or above.[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html)
**Carcass grading.** Carcass grading is the industry-standard evaluation used throughout Japan to stabilize meat pricing, calculated from a meat quality grade and a yield grade scored separately.[3](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef) For Kobe Beef, the meat quality score must be 4 or above, the yield score A or B, and the marbling ratio, measured on the Beef Marbling Standard (BMS), level 6 or higher. Carcass weight must fall between 270 kg and 499.9 kg for a cow and 300 kg and 499.9 kg for a steer. If damage is found in a carcass, a commission member of the association judges whether it qualifies.[1](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html) Qualifying carcasses are stamped with the Japanese chrysanthemum mark and issued an official certificate.[5](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/criteria.html) • [3](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef)
**Traceability.** Calves of Tajima lineage born at designated breeding farms in Hyogo Prefecture are registered in a cattle lineage register and assigned an ear tag with a 10-digit individual ID number.[5](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/criteria.html) The association also operates a DNA testing system: meat pieces of Tajima Beef collected from each certified meat center are stored and managed at a facility in the Wagyu Master Meat Center (Hyogo Food Science Institute, Inc.), and a DNA management number is written on the Tajima Beef Certificate and the Kobe Beef Certificate of Authenticity.[7](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/dna/index.php)
## History
Tajima cattle have a long history in northern Hyogo. The *Shoku Nihongi*, a chronicle from roughly 1200 years ago, describes Tajima beef as suitable for tillage, transportation, and food.[6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history) The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries records that Tajima Ushi originated from draft cattle used for farming in the mountainous Tajima region over 1200 years ago, and that the lineage was recognized as genetically good for beef during the Meiji Period, after which it was improved and selected using sires owned by Hyogo Prefecture.[2](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s3.html)
**The Kobe port origin.** The brand's modern history begins with the opening of the port of Kobe in 1868. Foreign residents who tried Tajima beef, from cattle that farmers had used to haul and plow, found it remarkably good, and the reputation of "Kobe beef" spread so rapidly that the brand became world-famous even before the name of Kobe city itself.[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef) Foreigners who discovered the meat at the port carried "KOBE BEEF" abroad, and the term returned to Japanese as a loanword.[3](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef) According to the association, the first person to eat Tajima beef in Kobe is said to have been a British man, and foreign ships calling at the port came to request cattle, so the meat came to be called Kobe beef.[8](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/contents/about/legend.html)
Beef eating was not established in Japan at the time; the meat had been eaten secretly under the influence of Buddhist teachings and edicts of pity for living beings, and foreigners in Hyogo in the first year of Keio (1865) struggled to find cattle merchants.[6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history) The first beef shop in Kobe was started by a British man named Kilby around the third year of Keio, and the first public slaughterhouse run by Japanese, the Choju Selling Trading Company, was established in the fourth year of Meiji. Hirobumi Ito, the first governor of Hyogo Prefecture, liked to eat beef, and when beef was served at the table of [Emperor Meiji](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-meiji) on January 24, 1873, "eating beef" spread through the cities and the name "Kobe Beef" grew with Kobe as the birthplace of the trade.[6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history)
Until beef imports were liberalized, Tajima beef eaten in Kobe was simply the local product; the formal definition dates from the 1983 founding of the promotion council, which unified quality so that many people could eat it with confidence.[6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history)
## Production pipeline
The association describes a four-stage process from calf to certified meat.[5](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/criteria.html)
1. **Breeding of calves.** Calves of Tajima lineage born at designated breeding farms in Hyogo Prefecture are registered in the lineage register, tagged with a 10-digit ID, and raised to the age of nine months; breeding farms decide which bloodlines calves should be bred by and develop improved mating patterns.
2. **Feeding.** Calves shown at the livestock market are bought by designated feeding farms and raised on rice straw, maize, barley, and other cereals, with fresh, clean water; the meat matures to ideal quality from a minimum age of 28 months, at an average age of 32 months.
3. **Slaughtering and shipment.** Cattle are slaughtered at slaughterhouses in Hyogo Prefecture, inspected, and cattle that make the grade are sold as Tajima Beef at the meat market.
4. **Grading.** Only heifers or steers of Tajima Beef meeting the BMS, yield, weight, and texture conditions are entitled to the Kobe Beef name.
## Characteristics and how it is eaten
Kobe beef is described as very tender and graded as the finest marbled beef.[2](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s3.html) What sets it apart, according to the Kobe tourism authority, is its melt-in-the-mouth texture and mellow sweetness: the fine marbling has a low melting point, and scientific studies have shown the meat is high in flavor-enhancing oleic acid and inosinic acid, the umami component of red meat.[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef)
The signature preparation is teppanyaki, a grilling style that developed in Kobe, in which the steak is cooked on a hot iron plate so the marbled fat melts and forms an aromatic crust around a juicy center. Other common preparations include yakiniku barbecue, sukiyaki simmered in sweet soy broth and dipped in raw egg, and shabushabu, in which thin slices are passed through kelp broth to render excess fat. Kobe beef also appears in casual dishes such as hamburgers, gyudon beef bowls, and croquettes.[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef) Misono, a Kobe establishment dating to 1945, was the first restaurant in the world to serve teppanyaki steak.[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef)
## Rarity, price, and mislabeling
Certified Kobe beef is a small share of Japanese production: less than 0.2% of the total beef market in Japan.[4](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef) Abroad it commands a high price; in France it can be found for around €400 a kilo.[9](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/summer-reads/article/2024/08/26/matsusaka-beef-is-as-tender-as-foie-gras-and-a-culinary-favorite_6721853_183.html)
The name is frequently misused outside Japan. A market analysis for the [South Australian](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-australian) government noted that under Japanese law Kobe beef can only originate from Hyogo Prefecture, and that the majority of "Kobe beef" available outside Japan does not conform to the Japanese trademarked term, though it may be of similar quality from wagyu-bred or crossbred cattle.[10](https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/283550/Frost_and_Sullivan_-_Market_Analysis_Luxury_Foods.pdf) Restaurants in Japan, especially in tourist-heavy districts, sometimes advertise "Kobe beef" dishes that are actually Japanese Black beef from unrelated regions; phrases such as "Kobe-style" or "Kobe-grade," or a price noticeably below the ¥12,000–25,000 range for a full Kobe beef course, signal that the meat is not the certified product.[11](https://www.osaka-escape.com/guides/kobe-beef-guide/) Genuine sellers can point to the certificate of authenticity, which carries the animal's 10-digit identification and DNA management number.[7](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/dna/index.php)
Kobe beef is one of several premium wagyu brands rather than a category of its own: [Matsusaka beef](https://www.edgepedia.org/matsusaka-beef) and Omi beef are also produced from Tajima cattle.[6](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history) Every Kobe beef carcass meets the top Japanese grading tiers, but most top-graded wagyu comes from other prefectures such as Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Matsusaka.[12](https://wagyucompared.com/guides/a5-wagyu-vs-kobe/)
## References
1. [Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association Bylaws (definition of Tajima Beef and Kobe Beef)](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/definition.html)
2. [Product Summary, Registration No. 3 神戸ビーフ, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s3.html)
3. [What Is Kobe Beef? Kobe Beef Online, Kobe Beef Tatsuya](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef)
4. [Special Feature on "Kobe beef", VISIT KOBE Official Travel Guide](https://www.feel-kobe.jp/en/stories/kobebeef)
5. [Classification, Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/about/criteria.html)
6. [Kobe beef history, Kobe Beef Online, Kobe Beef Tatsuya](https://www.kobebeef.co.jp/en/pages/kobebeef-history)
7. [DNA Testing System, Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/dna/index.php)
8. [神戸ビーフの伝説, 神戸肉流通推進協議会](https://www.kobe-niku.jp/contents/about/legend.html)
9. [Matsusaka beef is as tender as foie gras and a culinary favorite, Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/summer-reads/article/2024/08/26/matsusaka-beef-is-as-tender-as-foie-gras-and-a-culinary-favorite_6721853_183.html)
10. [Luxury Foods Market Analysis (2015), Frost & Sullivan / Primary Industries and Regions SA](https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/283550/Frost_and_Sullivan_-_Market_Analysis_Luxury_Foods.pdf)
11. [Kobe beef guide 2026: certification, prices, real vs fake, Osaka Escape](https://www.osaka-escape.com/guides/kobe-beef-guide/)
12. [A5 Wagyu vs Kobe: Grading Standards, Price Breakdown & Authentication, Wagyu Compared](https://wagyucompared.com/guides/a5-wagyu-vs-kobe/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Meat, poultry, and game dishes › Beef and steak dishes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license