Master Breeder Shogo Takeda, of Takeda Farms has been a leading breeder in Japan and is a pioneer of the Wagyu breed throughout the rest of the world. Takeda Farms genetics have had an immeasurable impact on the breed in Australia and the United States. Numerous maternal were included in the Takeda Farms importation of live Wagyu to the United States. One of those lines is the Hikokura family, which trace back to the Ezokintou cow. This line has continually shown its genetic superiority with elite sires and cows constantly coming from this family. Some of the well-known and breed leading early bulls from the Hikokuras are TF Itomichi ½ , TF Teruntani 40/1, and Mitsuhikokura TF 149.
Three major matriarchs have emerged as leading females in this maternal line: Dai 2 Kinntou 3, TF Hikohime 3/2, and Hikokura 1/7. These females trace back directly to Ezokintou J11691 on the maternal side. Ezokintou is a daughter of the cow Takeda himself has said was his best cow, Kintou. These three cows have produced an astounding number of proven sires and dams in herds around the world including the likes of new breed leaders Mayura Itoshigenami JNR, Coates Itoshigenami G113, and Sumo Cattle Co Michifuku F154.
The first matriarch on the list, Dai 2 Kintou 3, has produced direct maternal descendants and leading sires Mayura Itoshigenami JNR, Sumo Cattle Co Michifuku F126, Sumo Cattle Co Itoshigenami C158, Ginjo Marblemax Hiranami B901, Westholme Fujiteru 3,and TF Terutani 40/1. To top it all off, she is also a full sister to TF Itomichi ½.
Mayura Itoshigenami JNR needs no introduction and is widely regarded as the “King” of the Wagyu breed. He recently saw his daughter’s smash records at the 2019 Elite Wagyu Sale along with his sons setting records in the 2017 and 2018 Elite Wagyu Sales. His breed leading EBVs are backed up by jaw dropping raw data averages from Mayura Station on 805 carcasses of 9.05 MS, 448 kg (985.6 lbs.) HSCW, and 109 cm2 (16.90 in2) EMA (10th/11th rib). A highlight of his high selling progeny includes his daughter, Mayura N1229, selling for $280,000, his son, Mayura L10, selling for $105,000, and his polled son, Poll Wagyu Midnight M0775, selling for $185,000.
Other Dai 2 Kinntou 3 descendants seeing success include a few sires in the Sumo Wagyu program. Sumo Cattle Co Michifuku F126 has impressive carcass results in the Sumo Wagyu herd and on 19 carcasses is averaging a 8.6 MS and 447 kg (983.4 lbs.) HSCW. Also, from the Sumo program is high EBV sire Sumo Cattle Co Itoshigenami C158 who has a MS EBV of 1.6 and has sired the new breed leader Coates Itoshigenami G113! Then don’t forget about Sumo Cattle Co Shikikan D233 who has a 1.2 MS and 11 CW EBV.
TF Terutani 40/1 is the Takeda bred and Sumo Wagyu owned sire who is renowned for making impressive females with fantastic maternal traits. He has carcass data published in the 2018 Wagyu Fullblood Sale catalog from Salisbury Wagyu and Sanjolincey Wagyu. On 106 carcasses in the Sanjolincey herd he was their 4th highest carcass weight bull and 8th highest marble score bull. This puts him in 4th place for their carcass value ranking behind Itohana 2, Overflow Kaneyama, and TF 148, but ahead of breed greats Michifuku, TF 151, TF 147, and 001. In the Salisbury herd 40/1 ranked 7th for ADG and 6th for MS making him one of the best overall sires in the herd.
From Mike Buchanan’s Ginjo herd comes popular sire Ginjo Marblemax Hiranami B901. He is well known as an all-round specialist and for making great cows. In the Mayura herd he has put up impressive carcass traits on 39 carcasses of 8.21 MS, 445.1 kg (979.2 lbs.), and 97.0 cm2 (15.04 in2) EMA at the 10th/11th rib.
In the famous Westholme herd a Kitaguni Jr son from the Dai 2 Kinntou 3 line has strong EBVs. Westholme Fujiteru 3 has an elite MS EBV of 2.0 and F1-TI of $177. Specializing MS and MF he lacks growth and traces back to a full sister to TF Terutani 40/1.
Lastly is the full brother to Dai 2 Kinntou 3, TF Itomichi ½. He is a renown growth sire who is generally considered weak on carcass traits, specifically EMA. In the Salisbury herd rankings he does well on ADG, ranking 6th, but is only 18th of 27 for MS. In the Lone Mountain Ranch herd, he does well as a dam sire averaging 31.28% IMF on 27 carcasses.
This maternal line features the rare combination of great growth, size, and carcass quality. We have been greatly impressed by the performance of the Hikokuras and can see why they are the top of Takeda genetics. The Hikokuras will improve any herd, or program, through females and/or sires. This line can be bred from with confidence and taken in many directions. We have experienced a high demand for genetics from the Hikokuras.
