Kikuterushige

Kikuterushige, tag TF150, is one of Takeda Farm's black Wagyu foundation bulls exported to the USA in the 1990s, after which the Takeda herd was dispersed to Australia and Canada. He is 100% Tajima, a linebred Kikuterudoi bull and one of only two sons of the great Japanese sire Tanifuku Doi available outside Japan (the other being Kikutsuru Doi TF146). Mr Shogo Takeda regarded him as the highest-marbling bull he raised in his lifetime, a remarkable statement from Japan's most exacting marbling breeder. That extreme marbling potential comes with trade-offs frequently noted by breeders: poor temperament in some progeny, slow growth and inconsistent ('shotgun') results, so he is used selectively, often through embryo transfer, to inject peak marbling rather than as a broad-use sire. His concentrated Tajima genetics make him prized for terminal marbling crosses. With roughly 1,142 Australian-registered progeny, he is less numerous than the headline foundation sires but genetically significant for herds chasing maximum marble score.