Wagyu beef

An animal of the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae. A common name for a breed of domestic cattle native to Japan, which was previously used for draft meat, but is now rarely used for draft meat and is considered a meat breed. Its origins are most similar to Korean cattle, and both Japanese and Korean cattle have stronger genetic elements of European original cattle than those of the Indian Zebu, and it is thought to have been introduced via the Korean Peninsula from the cattle-raising culture that spanned the east and west of central Eurasia. The only breed that is considered to be a pure native is the Mishima cattle, which is preserved as a natural monument in Mishima, Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The coat color is mostly black, but there are also some with white spots, brown hair, and swirl hair. It is a small, draft-type cattle with poor hindquarters development and very late maturity. In the Meiji era, there was a demand to improve Wagyu cattle, and from 1900 (Meiji 33), foreign breeds such as Simmental, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Devon, and Shorthorn were imported and crossbred with Wagyu cattle. These crossbreedings were not successful because they lacked planning, and ceased after about 10 years, but eventually the advantages and disadvantages of both breeds were properly recognized, and in 1912 (Taisho 1), cattle in the process of being improved were named "improved Wagyu cattle," and specific policies were established for each region, and improvement work was carried out. During this time, the registration organization and the evaluation standards were unified, and by 1944 (Showa 19), it was concluded that the period of improved Wagyu, which had been improved and named in each prefecture, had ended and that it had reached a fixed breed, and it was decided that the horned black breed widely distributed mainly in the Chugoku region would be called Kuroge Wagyu, the horned brown breed mainly produced in Kumamoto Prefecture and Kochi Prefecture would be called Katsuge Wagyu, and the hornless black breed raised in parts of Yamaguchi Prefecture would be called No-Horn Wagyu. Since the National Wagyu Registration Association was established in 1948, registration has been unified. After that, the breed created by crossing the Nanbu cattle in Iwate Prefecture with Shorthorns was considered a fixed breed and came to be called Japanese Shorthorn, and four Wagyu breeds were established. The weight is about 700 kg for males and 400 kg for females.

[Nishida Tomoko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱偶蹄(ぐうてい)目ウシ科の動物。家畜ウシの日本在来品種の俗称で、以前は役肉兼用種であったが、現在では役用に利用されることはほとんどなく、肉用種とみなされている。その起源については、朝鮮牛にもっとも似ており、和牛、朝鮮牛ともにインド系のゼビューに由来する遺伝的要素よりはヨーロッパ系の原牛型の要素のほうが強く、ユーラシア中央部を東西にまたがる牛飼い文化のなかから、朝鮮半島を介して移入したものと考えられている。純粋な在来種とみられるものは山口県萩市見島(みしま)に天然記念物として保存されている見島牛である。毛色は黒が多く、白斑(はくはん)のあるもの、褐毛、すだれ毛のものもあり、小形で後躯(こうく)の発育が悪い役用型のウシで、非常に晩熟である。明治時代に入ってから和牛の改良が要求されるようになり、1900年（明治33）から外国種であるシンメンタール、エアーシャー、ブラウンスイス、デボン、ショートホーンなどが輸入され、和牛との交雑が行われた。これらの交配は計画性を欠いていたため成績は芳しくなく、10年間ほどで絶えてしまったが、やがて双方の短所・長所が正しく認識されるようになり、1912年（大正1）に改良過程にあるウシを改良和種と名づけて地域ごとに具体的な方針を確立して改良が進められた。この間登録組織と審査標準が一元化されてきて、1944年（昭和19）に至って各県ごとに改良されて名称づけられていた和牛は改良和種の時期を終わり、固定品種に到達したと結論され、中国地方を中心に広く分布している有角黒毛の品種を黒毛(くろげ)和種、熊本県・高知県を主産地とする有角褐毛の品種を褐毛(かつげ)和種、山口県の一部に飼育されている無角黒毛の品種を無角和種とよぶことに定めた。1948年に全国和牛登録協会が発足して以来、登録は一元的に行われるようになった。その後、岩手県などにいた南部牛にショートホーンを交配してつくられたものが固定品種とみなされ、日本短角種とよばれるようになり、ここに和牛4品種が成立した。体重は雄700キログラム、雌400キログラムぐらいである。

［西田恂子］

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