Protected local food
Tajima Beef
但馬牛
Tajima Beef comes from Tajima cattle raised in Hyogo, the same bloodline as Kobe Beef. The meat is tender, and the grading bar is lower than Kobe's: grade 2 or higher instead of 4.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 22 December 2015
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 但馬牛
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 兵庫県内
The cattle behind Kobe Beef
Tajima cattle come from the mountains of the Tajima area in northern Hyogo, where they worked the fields for about 1,200 years. In the Meiji era people saw that the line made excellent beef, and since then only bulls owned by Hyogo Prefecture have been used to breed it.
Tajima or Kobe?
Tajima Beef needs a grade of A2 or B2 or higher. Meat from the same cattle that reaches grade 4 with a marbling score of 6 or more can be sold as Kobe Beef. So all Kobe Beef is Tajima Beef, but not the other way round.
Good to know
- If a menu lists both Tajima and Kobe Beef, ask the staff to explain the difference in grade and price.
- Other Wagyu to compare: Matsusaka Beef and Omi Beef.
Questions travellers ask
Is Tajima Beef the same as Kobe Beef?
They come from the same Tajima cattle. Kobe Beef is the share that reaches grade 4 or higher with a marbling score of 6 or more; Tajima Beef needs grade 2 or higher.
Where does Tajima Beef come from?
Hyogo Prefecture. The cattle line comes from the Tajima area in the mountains of northern Hyogo.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
- Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
- Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.