Yonezawa Beef

Yonezawa Gyu is a geographically indicated (GI) product registered in Japan and belongs to the beef category. It was granted protection on 3 March 2017.

The production area of Yonezawa Gyu is the Okitama region of Yamagata Prefecture. This region includes the cities of Yonezawa, Nanyo, and Nagai, and the towns of Takahata, Kawanishi, Iide, Shirataka, and Oguni. YONEZAWAGYU is beef obtained from black-haired Japanese female cattle raised in the Okitama region of Yamagata Prefecture that have lived an average of more than 33 months at the time of shipment.

The history of Yonezawa Gyu dates back to the early Meiji period (1870s). In 1871, the first governor invited British teacher Charles Henry Dallas to Kojokan, the prefectural school. Four years later, upon completing his term, Mr. Dallas took a local cattle with him to his residence in Yokohama. Following an agreement with a livestock dealer and a wholesaler, and after the beef received unanimous praise from tasters, he began selling it under the name YONEZAWAGYU. This event brought the beef to prominence and gained it national recognition. On Mr. Dallas’s recommendation, the first beef shop in Yonezawa was opened in 1875. During this period, as many merchants from the Kansai region came to Yonezawa due to the growth of the silk industry, they were commonly served YONEZAWAGYU “braised beef stew,” which contributed significantly to the spread of its reputation across the country. In the mid-Meiji period (1890s), as pastures and cattle farms were established in and around Yonezawa, YONEZAWAGYU production became an established industry.

It is recorded that during the early Taisho period (1910s), more than 300 cattle were raised annually. In the 1980s, the beef trade shifted from live animals to carcass trading. In 1988, the “Yonezawa Beef Transportation Association” was established to handle carcass shipments to the Tokyo meat market. In 1992, the “Yonezawa Beef Promotion Council” was formed in collaboration with administrative and related organizations to strengthen the YONEZAWAGYU brand and establish common standards for YONEZAWAGYU.