Most Searched Japanese Brand Pork, November 2026 edition. Each month we rank the English pages of the Japan Brand Pork Encyclopedia (419 brands) by the number of Google Search impressions they recorded the month before, as reported by Google Search Console for this site. An impression means the page appeared in a search result. In October 2026, the TOKYO X page recorded the most impressions for the second month in a row, and Kirishima Sangen Ton and Kobe Pork entered the top five. This measures interest in the pages, not meat quality.
October 2026 results
Ranked by Google Search impressions of each brand’s English page on this site in October 2026 (Google Search Console). An impression means the page appeared in a search result; this measures interest in the page, not meat quality.
Top 10 Japanese pork brands by search impressions (October 2026)
- TOKYO XHachioji City, Tokyo · TOKYO X (synthetic line) 日本語
- Kirishima Sangen TonMiyazaki Prefecture · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Kobe PorkNishi Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Kagoshima Mochi ButaOsaki Town, Soo District, Kagoshima Prefecture · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Hanapesha Junsui KurobutaKagoshima Prefecture · Watanabe Berkshire 日本語
- Unzen Umaka Ton MomijiIsahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Kuro no TakumiKanoya City, Kagoshima Prefecture · Purebred Berkshire 日本語
- Kamifurano PorkKamifurano Town, Sorachi District, Hokkaido · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Sachiku MugiouShari Town, Shari District, Hokkaido · Three-way cross with a Duroc sire 日本語
- Date no Junsui AkabutaTome City, Miyagi Prefecture · Purebred Duroc 日本語
TOKYO X led for a second month, and its English page recorded about twice as many search impressions as in September. The other four brands in the top five changed from September: Kirishima Sangen Ton, Kobe Pork, Kagoshima Mochi Buta and Hanapesha Junsui Kurobuta came in. Three Kagoshima brands appear in the top ten, two of them Berkshire-based.
Past Rankings
September 2026: TOKYO X, Misaki Ton, Ajiwai Pork, Shimanto Pork, Yamato Pork
How this ranking works
Source: Google Search Console data for the English brand pages of TokyoPorkPlus (pages under /en/brandpork/), 1–31 October 2026, retrieved on 3 November 2026. The count is impressions, not clicks or page views: the English edition is still small, and a page-view ranking would not be meaningful. The Japanese edition of this site publishes a separate monthly ranking by page views (in Japanese); the two lists usually look quite different.
Each brand is listed with its production area and breed as recorded in the basic information on its encyclopedia page, shortened to one line. Brands are not scored, tasted or endorsed here. The order reflects search impressions, and nothing more.
Search terms explained: Kurobuta, TOKYO X, sangen and other words readers look up
These terms appear in our Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools reports for the English pages. If one of them brought you here, the guides below explain what it means and where to read more.
Kurobuta, Kagoshima Berkshire and “the Wagyu of pork”
Kurobuta (黒豚, “black pig”) is Japanese black pork. Under Japan’s meat-labeling standards, pork sold as Kurobuta must come from purebred Berkshire pigs; it is a breed, not a color. Kagoshima Kurobuta, the Berkshire pork of Kagoshima Prefecture, is the regional form our readers search for most. “The Wagyu of pork” is an informal comparison used by sellers and writers, not an official grade; Japan grades pork carcasses under a system separate from the one for beef. Looking for “kurobota”, “kurobata” or “korobuta”? Start with Kurobuta Meaning, then meet two Kagoshima Berkshire brands in this month’s top ten, Hanapesha Junsui Kurobuta and Kuro no Takumi.
TOKYO X, Agu pork, Kobe pork and other brand names
TOKYO X (often searched as “TOKYO X pig” or “TOKYO X pork”) is a synthetic line developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Livestock Experiment Station. It is raised mainly in Tokyo, with member farms in Miyagi, Ibaraki, Gunma and Yamanashi as well. Agu pork comes from pigs with the ancestry of Okinawa’s native Agu pig, most of it from certified crosses rather than purebred animals; our guide Agu Pork explains the breed, the brands and the spelling, and is the place to start if you searched for “Ryukyu pork”. Kobe Pork is a pork brand from Kobe’s Nishi Ward, a different product from Kobe beef. Sachiku Mugiou (Hokkaido) and Unzen Umaka Ton Momiji (Nagasaki) are regional brand names as well; in traditional Japanese menu language momiji can also mean venison, but here it is simply part of a pork brand’s name.
Sangen pork, akabuta, mochibuta, SPF pork: words you see on labels
Sangen (三元) means a three-way cross, the most common breeding pattern in Japan; Kirishima Sangen Ton from Miyazaki is one example, and our Miyazaki directory lists the prefecture’s other brands. Akabuta (赤豚) literally means “red pig”; Date no Junsui Akabuta is a brand of purebred Duroc pork. Mochibuta (もち豚) appears in several brand names, including Kagoshima Mochi Buta; each brand profile records its own breeding and feeding. SPF pork comes from herds kept free of specified pathogens under a farm certification scheme, such as Hakuba SPF Buta. Meigara-buta (銘柄豚) means branded pork: a name a producer group gives to pork raised under its own rules. Breed, crossbreeding and herd-health terms describe a brand but are not brand names in themselves; see What Is Japanese Brand Pork?
Pork in Japanese: buta, butaniku and the kanji
Pork in Japanese is butaniku (豚肉). Buta (豚) is the pig, read ton in tonkatsu, and pōku (ポーク) appears on Western-style menus. Our guide Pork in Japanese covers how to say, write and order it, with the kanji and hiragana.
Tonkatsu and the brands behind it
Tonkatsu is often the first place a visitor sees a brand pork named on a menu. Our guide to Japanese brand pork for tonkatsu and How to Read a Tonkatsu Menu in Japan explain the cuts, the shop-defined menu tiers and the line that names the pork.
Editor’s note — October
Three Kagoshima brands appear in this month’s top ten: Hanapesha Junsui Kurobuta, Kagoshima Mochi Buta and Kuro no Takumi. Kagoshima Kurobuta is the Berkshire pork our readers search for most, and our guide Kurobuta Meaning explains why only purebred Berkshire can carry that name in Japan.
If you are curious what these pigs are fed, our October data report What Japanese Pigs Eat reads the feed notes on 401 of the 419 brand pages. This ranking is updated monthly, after the previous month’s search data is finalized.
