This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. Do not translate text that appears black angus beef ribeye or low-quality.

If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. All wagyū cattle derive from cross-breeding in the early twentieth century of native Japanese cattle with imported stock, mostly from Europe. In several areas of Japan, Wagyu beef is shipped carrying area names. Some examples are Matsusaka beef, Kobe beef, Yonezawa beef, Ōmi beef, and Sanda beef. Cattle were brought to Japan from China at the same time as the cultivation of rice, in about the second century AD, in the Yayoi period. Between 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration, and 1887, some 2600 foreign cattle were imported.

At first, there was little interest in cross-breeding these with the native stock, but from about 1900, it became widespread. It ceased abruptly in 1910 when it was realised that, while the cross-breeds might be larger and have better dairy qualities, their working capacity and meat quality was lower. From 1919, the various heterogeneous regional populations that resulted from this brief period of cross-breeding were registered and selected as “Improved Japanese Cattle”. Japan, in Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku island, and in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu island. The Australian Wagyu Association is the largest breed association outside Japan.

Both fullblood and Wagyu-cross cattle are farmed in Australia for domestic and overseas markets, including Taiwan, China, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the U. France, Germany, Denmark and the U. In the United States, some Japanese Wagyu cattle are cross-bred with American Angus stock. Wagyu cattle farming in Canada appeared after 1991 when the Canadian Wagyu Association was formed. In 2008, a herd of Wagyu cattle was imported to North Yorkshire, first becoming available for consumption in 2011. Since 2011 there have been Wagyu herds in Scotland.