Try a little tenderness: Charting the rise of Scottish Wagyu beef

In Japan, ‘Wagyu’ is synonymous with great meat — quite literally. In the country’s native tongue, ’Wa’ translates as ‘Japanese’ and ‘Gyu’ as ‘beef’. And prime cuts of their rarefied meat, with its uniquely tender texture and rich, buttery flavour, are sought after the world over. Exports are high, quality is higher and the Japanese people take this majestically marbled, beefy business very, very seriously.