The pride of Ibaraki Prefecture — a three-way cross brand pork with concentrated, deeply satisfying umami in every bite.
Rose Pork is a representative brand pork of Ibaraki Prefecture, beloved by many consumers for over 40 years since its birth in 1983. Its name is derived from the rose — Ibaraki Prefecture’s prefectural flower — and the breed line ‘Rose’ developed uniquely by Ibaraki Prefecture’s Swine Experiment Station. Based on this ‘Rose’ — the first in Japan to be certified as a breed line in 1979 — the pork is produced as a three-breed cross of Landrace, Large Yorkshire, and Duroc, drawing out the outstanding qualities of each breed to the fullest. The rearing uses a dedicated Rose Pork feed containing 15% or more barley, whose fiber-rich content enables slow, patient fattening and produces a beautiful meat quality with fine marbling of quality fat throughout the lean. It has been scientifically proven to contain approximately 2.7 times the umami amino acids and approximately 1.5 times the sweetness amino acids of standard domestic pork — delivering a rich yet never-cloying, elegant flavor. The exquisite balance between the finely-grained, springy lean and the lustrous, soft, brilliantly white fat is outstanding — a versatile pork earning high praise from professional chefs for its compatibility with any preparation. Under a fully managed system in which producers, feed, and retailers are all specifically designated, this is a rare brand pork representing only approximately 3% of all pork shipped from Ibaraki Prefecture. Shoulder to shoulder with Hitachi-gyu beef and Okukuji Shamo chicken as a brand meat representing Ibaraki, it also won the Grand Prize at the 2002 National Brand Meat Contest. Please do verify its rich flavor at your table.
Basic Information
- Name
Rose Pork - Production Area
Ibaraki Town, Higashi-Ibaraki District, Ibaraki Prefecture - Management Body
JA Ibaraki Prefectural Headquarters (Zennoh Ibaraki) - Breed / Crossbreeding
Female (Landrace × Large White) × Male: Duroc (three-way cross) - Meat Characteristics
Finely textured, resilient lean meat harmonized with lustrous, soft white fat. Umami amino acids approx. 2.7× and sweetness amino acids approx. 1.8× that of standard pork. - Feed Characteristics
Dedicated Rose Pork feed containing 15% or more barley. Barley’s high fiber content enables slow, steady fattening that concentrates flavor in the lean meat. - Shipping Age
Approx. 180 days - Annual Production
Approx. 35,000 heads/year - Signature Dish
Not specified - Certifications
Trademark registered: March 30, 1988
Brand standards established: November 28, 1983 (revised June 21, 2017) - Related URLs
Rose Pork – Ibaraki Prefecture Brand Pork Promotion Association
Rose Pork – Wikipedia - Source
Branded Pork Guidebook 2026, p.66
Ibaraki Prefecture Brand Pork Promotion Association
Wikipedia
Last updated
June 21, 2026