Kenhanafuji

Kenhanafuji (FB2461) is the rarest of the original Japanese foundation bulls and one of the most valuable Wagyu sires ever, nicknamed the 'International Bull of Mystery' and cited as the highest-selling Wagyu bull of all time. He is genetically distinct from the famous Tajima marbling sires: he carries no Tajima blood, instead being roughly 75% Fujiyoshi (Shimane) and 25% Kedaka. His pedigree runs Itohana x Kensei x Itochiyo; his sire Itohana (FB504) was a linebred Dai 7 Itozakura son and one of that line's highest-marbling sires in Japan, and his dam was Hana Fuji 472029 (FB563). Kenhanafuji was imported to North America in 1994 by the Mannett Group (later World K's), in the same shipment as Takazakura. He is celebrated above all as a maternal sire, producing large-framed, productive, feed-efficient, good-tempered daughters, and only a handful of North American ranches ever held semen on him, keeping straw prices high and rising. He recorded roughly 403 registered progeny in Australia. His birth year is not documented in the sources reviewed.