Matsusaka beef
Japanese meat
Matsusaka beef (松阪牛, Matsusaka-ushi, Matsusaka-gyū also "Matsuzaka beef") is the meat of Japanese Black cattle reared under strict conditions in the Matsusaka region of Mie in Japan. It has a high fat-to-meat ratio. Within Japan, Matsusaka is one of the three Sandai Wagyū, the "three big beefs", the others being Kobe beef and Ōmi beef or Yonezawa beef. About 2,500 cows are slaughtered for Matsusaka beef each year; the meat commands high prices.
History
Before the 19th century, beef was not typically a part of the average Japanese diet. Farmers in the Mie Prefecture would raise smaller and more muscular, female cows to do agricultural work. When westerners introduced them to eating beef, farmers began to raise the cows to have traits that were more favorable for human consumption. The "National Beef Exposition" awarded Matsusaka with the medal of high honor in 1938. The award helped make Matsusaka more well known. The beef became famous for its marbling, rich flavor, and tenderness.
“Matsusaka beef” enters the record as japanese meat. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Matsusaka, beef and Japanese can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Matsusaka beef” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Matsusaka, beef and Japanese provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6788195. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1938.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Matsusaka beef”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Matsusaka beef primary sources, Matsusaka beef archive and Matsusaka research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Matsusaka beef”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Matsusaka beef” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.