Rikitani

Rikitani was one of the three near-100% Tajima foundation females imported by the Mannett Group in 1993, the shipment that established fullblood Wagyu in North America. Born January 13, 1992, she was a pure Tajima female sired by Tanishige (FB211) and out of Shigekane (FB230), a daughter of the great Tajima sire Shigeshigenami — the shared ancestor that made all three 1993 heifers so prized. Together with Suzutani she was among the very first 100% Tajima females ever to leave Japan. Her enduring place in history comes from her son Rikihari (also rendered Rikiharu, FB10973), sired by Haruki II, who on June 19, 1994 in Canada became the first fullblood Wagyu calf born anywhere outside Japan. Rikitani herself proved a poor flush cow and produced comparatively few offspring, so her direct genetic footprint is narrower than Suzutani's or Okutani's, but her progeny are prized for elite marbling and her name anchors the earliest chapter of the breed's export history.