Morning mist drifting across the Iga basin in Mie, Japan

A basin ringed by mountains, where morning mist rises.
Warm days, cool nights, and mountain water feeding the fields.
In this quiet, the cattle grow slowly.
Not hurrying is what makes them well.

Health made by the land

Nurture
The Basin That Raises Them

Mist, cool nights, water

Iga lies at the western edge of Mie, a basin ringed by mountains. Mornings are deep with mist; days are warm and nights are cool.
Water from the mountains feeds the fields — and has long given rise to sake prized across Japan.
The conditions for cattle to grow well were here from the start.

Clear mountain stream water over wet stones in Iga
Iga Ueno castle town in morning mist, with its white keep
Time, Not Haste

Waiting thirty months

Cattle traded in the farmyard as Iga Beef are generally 30 months or older, and around 700 kg.
Rather than pushing for weight, the farmer waits for the frame to fill out.
It takes care, and it keeps the numbers small. Still, the way of raising has not changed.

A healthy Japanese Black grazing on Iga grassland
How They Are Raised

The path of raising

From the day the calf arrives to the day it stands, alive, before a buyer's eye.

01
The calf arrives
In 1886 Mie brought breeding cows from Tajima — the beginning of beef cattle here.
02
Twelve months or more in Iga
The final and longest place of rearing must be Iga — the definition itself.
03
Basin water, and quiet
In a land of morning mist and cool nights, raised slowly.
04
Around thirty months
Around 30 months and 700 kg is the mark for trade in the farmyard.
05
Judged alive at the exhibition
Living animals are judged, not carcasses: width, fullness and depth of frame, coat quality, the poise of a heifer.

Summary based on public information from Iga City, Mie Brand, JA Iga and the Iga beef cattle exhibition.

育Nurture➤ 目The Eye➤ 均Balance➤
Morning light on the greenery around an Iga cattle barn
The Land

Meet the people who raise them.

For chefs and buyers, we arrange visits to the farms — walking the farmyard and hearing from the people who raise the cattle.
The land and the labor, seen firsthand.

More ➤
The Eye — Chosen alive, by eye➤ Balance — Lean and marbling➤ About the Council➤ Questions — Grading, halal and export➤ The Mark — What makes it authentic➤