How Wagyu Came to America

Much of what follows is firsthand oral history — recollections of the men who were actually in Japan selecting the cattle and on the planes that carried them across the Pacific. It is Grant Whitmer's "gold," gathered from elite breeders who were there at the beginning, and it is preserved here in their voice. Where a claim is documented by the written record we label it as such; where it is one man's memory we label it that way too, and where the WagyuRanch account differs from the carefully fact-checked breed history compiled from export records, we flag the difference rather than silently "correcting" it. The vintage voice is the point; the flags just keep the reader honest.

The single most important fact to hold onto: the entire global full-blood Wagyu industry outside Japan descends from a tiny founder population — on the order of a couple hundred animals — moved in two narrow windows, 1976 and the mid-1990s. Then Japan closed the door and it never reopened.

The 1976 Bulls — the First Four

The story outside Japan begins not with thousands of cattle but with four bulls imported to the United States in the mid-1970s. Two were Japanese Black — Mt. Fuji and Mazda — and two were Akaushi — Judo and Rueshaw. At that time there was no DNA verification; it did not become a registration requirement until the mid-1990s, and even then only for 100% full-bloods (it was not required for animals under 100% purebred until 2017). For fifteen years, breeders in America graded up percentage animals from these four bulls, because there were no full-blood Wagyu females outside Japan.

• Rueshaw was the 1975 Japanese Red National Champion — by repute the only national champion ever permitted to leave Japan — and the first Wagyu registered with the American Wagyu Association. He is the sire of the 3-time Houston champion and highest-marble-scan bull "Rueshaw 75."
• Mazda was a Tottori bull whose descendants top modern marbling tests despite his line's growth reputation. The WagyuRanch material describes him specifically as the only pure Youhou-line Tottori bull ever to leave Japan.

The 1990s Wave — What the Record Documents

Between roughly 1993 and 1997, a short series of carefully organized exports finally brought live full-blood cattle — bulls and females — out of Japan. This window created the entire global full-blood industry. Every animal had to clear a long quarantine in Japan (built to USDA/MAFF specification and approved by both governments) before it could fly.

• The Mannett Group (now operating as World K's / WKS) led the way. Its first shipment, 1993, carried five animals: the bulls Michifuku and Haruki 2 and the foundation females Suzutani, Okutani and Rikitani. The first full-bloods born outside Japan came from this group; Fujiko (out of Okutani) was among the first U.S.-born full-bloods.
• Mannett's second shipment (1994) added the black bulls Takazakura, Kenhanafuji, Nakayuki, Nakagishi 5, Kanetani and Okahana, plus — assembled into the same quarantine — the Akaushi (Red) foundation group.
• Japanese Venture Partners (JVP) imported the next pillar group, headed by Fukutsuru 068 (ranked #1 for marbling in the U.S. for years), Kikuyasu 400 (the largest 100% Tajima bull ever exported, near a ton), Yasutanisakura 931 and others — including two Akaushi, Kunisakae and Dai 27 Homare.
• Takeda Farm exported its "TF" series of black bulls, including Itomichi 1/2, Kikuhana, Kikutsurudoi and later the marbling titans Itoshigenami (TF148) and Itoshigefuji (TF147), plus Itozuru Doi 151 — the only bull Takeda ever had cloned, and cloned twice.
• Westholme (Chris Walker's program) imported the three "patriarch" bulls known by their tags — Hirashigetayasu (001), Itomoritaka (002) and Kitateruyasudoi (003) — and a Westholme 007 (Kitatsurukiku Doi) — routing the bulk of a large group of females onward to Australia.

Careful reconstruction of the export records puts the total founder population at roughly 221 animals — about 188 Japanese Black and 22 Akaushi (Red) — the entire genetic basis of full-blood Wagyu outside Japan.

The 1990s Wave — Firsthand Recollection

The following is the personal account of one of "the old breeders" — the son of Yukio Kurosawatsu, a Mannett man who sourced and exported the cattle, and himself of Ken Kurosawatsu of Wagyu Sekai. It is preserved close to verbatim because the detail is irreplaceable.

The lawsuit that reshaped the first shipment

"Let's get the story straight once and for all. Mannett (now WKS) sent out their initial shipment in 1993 — Michifuku, Haruki 2, Suzutani, Okutani, Rikitani. Before export, Mannett built their own quarantine barn to USDA and Japanese MAFF specification, approved by both governments. At the same time, Mannett was approached by Chuck O'Hara (through WSU — Washington State University) to use the quarantine for cattle O'Hara had assembled in Japan, for a fee. When all the animals passed testing and were ready to leave, O'Hara could not pay the agreed fee, and Mannett kicked his cattle out of quarantine — losing their export status. Mannett exported its five animals, and established New Era Genetics with Buck Wright as General Manager.

On arrival in the USA, O'Hara filed a lawsuit claiming the five animals were his. After a long affair, a settlement was reached in Seattle: Mannett gave up the original import cow Rikitani, three pregnancies (which became the bulls Kanadagene 100 and 101 and a female Kanadagene 102), a 63/64 purebred cow called Patty, and semen on Michifuku and Haruki 2. Because O'Hara was backed by CGMP for the lawsuit, the animals ended up with the CGMP principals."

Wagyu Sekai purchased the first pregnancies from Mannett (Genjiro / Okuharu / Suzumichi / Rikiharu) and one more (Fujiko); Mannett kept the remainder (Sanjirou / Shigeshigetani / Beijirou / Takara). Wally Rea of Overflow negotiated an exclusive three-year deal securing the first full-blood genetics into Australia (Mishashi / Oskar / Kaneyama / Katsumi), though he did not get any females from the embryos he purchased.

Mannett's second shipment and the Reds (the Akaushi)

"Bruce Hemmingsen was approached by Englewood (Al & Marie Woods) in 1993 about exporting Red Wagyu out of Japan. Bruce approached my father Yukio — the two already had a relationship through the Holstein trade. Yukio had a working relationship with the prefectural government of Kumamoto, having exported over 300 head of high-quality Holsteins to Kumamoto over four years (timed to the Dairy Zenkyo). Because of that relationship, Yukio was able to select the Red Wagyu with Kumamoto's blessing — and yes, Bruce was with Yukio during the selection.

The cow that was the prefectural gem was not Akiko. The cow was Dai 8 Marunami (mother of Tamamaru).

Since Yukio and Bruce had no quarantine of their own, Yukio arranged to include the Reds in Mannett's facility for a fee. The Reds and Mannett's blacks (Takazakura, Kenhanafuji, Nakayuki, Nakagishi 5, Kanetani, Okahana) were assembled into the same quarantine. Three Red animals failed testing for Akabane / Ibaraki disease and quarantine was extended. When the animals were finally cleared, Bruce flew with the cattle to the USA, with a refuel in Alaska, into JFK.

Yukio had the brainstorm to have these animals bred to the top bulls in Japan while in quarantine — resulting in Big Al, Kaedemaru, Momigimaru, and an additional female (Dai 9 Kobai × Namimaru). Yukio then sold the cow Dai 9 Kobai to Englewood after clearing JFK quarantine.

The two remaining red cows outside this shipment — Naomi and Dai 3 Namiaki Ni — plus the offspring Kaedemaru and Momigimaru made their way to Canada, with the remaining reds going to Englewood (which became HeartBrand later on). Due to the BSE outbreak, both Naomi and Dai 3 Namiaki Ni were ordered destroyed by the Canadian Government for BSE testing (an order that also included Rikitani herself).

Mannett also sold the rights to Kenhanafuji to a Japanese investor, Eiji Funatsuki, for $150,000 cash.

The JVP shipment followed Mannett's second. JVP had two Red animals: Kunisakae and Dai 27 Homare.

My former boss at Mannett, Mr. Kaneyama, had many death threats before and after the shipments. It was a good thing he was 'connected' or these shipments would never have happened. Many deals were made in back rooms and lots of 'fees' were paid. WSU and Buck Wright were instrumental on this side of the ocean to make this pipe dream a reality."

The Legend of Big Al — First Full-Blood Akaushi Born Outside Japan

HB Big Al 502 (FB2998) is, in many breeders' opinion, the direct product of the best bull and cow of the Akaushi breed. His sire Dai 10 Mitsumaru — also the sire of imports Hikari, Kaedemaru and Kunisakae — was considered the greatest Akaushi bull in the world at the time Al and Marie Woods sent Yukio Kurosawatsu and Bruce Hemmingsen to Japan for a shipment of "Japanese Browns." His dam Akiko was one of the top cows in Japan, and it took considerable wrangling to buy out her existing contract. Since there was no way to get Dai 10 Mitsumaru out of the country, the decision was made to breed Akiko to him before she entered quarantine in Japan — and the resulting calf, carried across the Pacific en utero, was Big Al, the first full-blood Akaushi born outside Japan.

Eventually the Woods' herd of Akaushi and descendants was bought out by HeartBrand, where Big Al was a mainstay herd sire for years — until his death at 17, when he got loose and, the story goes, killed himself trying to breed cows. At HeartBrand headquarters, Big Al can still be viewed as a full-body mount in the front office.

The Legend of Kenhanafuji — "The International Bull of Mystery"

No founder-era account is complete without Kenhanafuji (FB2461), by reputation the highest-selling Wagyu bull of all time. Born December 16, 1993 in Japan, he was named for his Kedaka-influenced dam "Hanafuji," his former #1-in-Japan marbling sire Itohana, and his 100% pure Kedaka Hongen maternal sire "Kensei." He was the only calf out of the great Hanafuji cow ever registered outside Japan.

In the early 1990s Yukio Kurosawatsu and Bruce Hemmingsen were tasked by an investment group to canvass Japan and pick two elite bulls. Of thousands they scrutinized, Kenhanafuji was the easy #1 draft pick. Many breeders in Japan did not want him to leave, but he and Takazakura made it across. Then, shortly after he set foot in America, Mr. Eiji Funatsuki — a Tokyo high-rise real estate developer who owned a Wagyu operation in Hyogo — followed the bull to the States and paid $150,000 cash for him on the spot, making Kenhanafuji the highest-selling black Wagyu bull of all time. Whether Funatsuki wanted the growth-and-marbling of a zero-Tajima bull for his Hyogo operation, or made a tactical move to keep those genetics from Western commercial producers, the effect was the same: he largely sat on the bull, and Kenhanafuji became the rarest of all foundation sires, with the AWA herdbook showing only one registered animal sired by him in a fifteen-year stretch.

The Door Closes

Around 1997, Japan formally recognized Wagyu as a national treasure and effectively banned further live export of the cattle and their genetics. What had trickled out became — permanently — the entire foundation gene pool for the rest of the world. No significant legal export of live Japanese Wagyu or its germplasm has occurred since. That scarcity is the source of both the breed's prestige and its central long-term challenge: a global herd built from a very small number of founders.

Timeline

(For a chart. "Record" = documented; "Oral" = firsthand recollection preserved from the WagyuRanch material.)

• mid-1970s (1976) — First four bulls imported to the US: Mt. Fuji and Mazda (Black), Judo and Rueshaw (Akaushi). (Record)
• 1975 — Rueshaw wins the Japanese Red National Championship before export. (Record)
• 1991 — Canadian Wagyu Association formed; Canada becomes an early pipeline. (Record)
• 1993 — Mannett's first shipment: Michifuku, Haruki 2, Suzutani, Okutani, Rikitani; quarantine built to USDA/MAFF spec. (Record)
• 1993 — Al & Marie Woods (Englewood) approach Bruce Hemmingsen about exporting Akaushi; Hemmingsen approaches Yukio Kurosawatsu. (Oral)
• 1993–94 — Chuck O'Hara / WSU cattle kicked from quarantine over unpaid fee; lawsuit filed on US arrival; settled in Seattle (Rikitani, Kanadagene 100/101/102, Patty, semen). (Oral)
• 1994 — Mannett's second shipment: black bulls (Takazakura, Kenhanafuji, Nakayuki, Nakagishi 5, Kanetani, Okahana) + the Akaushi group; three reds fail Akabane/Ibaraki testing, quarantine extended; Bruce flies with cattle, refuels in Alaska, into JFK. (Oral)
• 1994 — In-quarantine breedings to top Japanese bulls produce Big Al, Kaedemaru, Momigimaru; Big Al born in the US as the first full-blood Akaushi born outside Japan. (Oral / pedigree-supported)
• 1994 — JVP shipment (Fukutsuru 068, Kikuyasu 400, Yasutanisakura 931; Akaushi Kunisakae & Dai 27 Homare). (Record)
• ~1994 — Eiji Funatsuki pays $150,000 cash for Kenhanafuji after his US arrival. (Oral)
• Early 2000s — BSE outbreak: Naomi, Dai 3 Namiaki Ni, and Rikitani ordered destroyed by the Canadian Government for BSE testing. (Oral)
• ~1997 — Japan declares Wagyu a national treasure and bans further live export. The founder gene pool is fixed permanently. (Record)

Primary firsthand sources: the WagyuRanch.com "Black Wagyu Info & Import History" and "Red Wagyu Info & Import History" pages (account of the son of Yukio Kurosawatsu / Ken Kurosawatsu of Wagyu Sekai), the Big Al and Kenhanafuji feature pages, and quoted breeder comments from Bruce Hemmingsen (Ultimate Kobe Beef) and Ken Kurosawatsu (Wagyu Sekai). Cross-checked against the fact-checked breed history in breed_history.md (WagyuTank), which draws on export-record reconstructions from Wagyu International and corroborating breeder histories.