I've done the same thing with my John Deere garden tractors (which are all Kawasaki engines).
Cross reference the OE filter with a few different manufacturers (Use Wix, F**m, and Purolator). Then take the results from the cross references, and see if they cross reference to each other. If you get multiple hits, then I'd say you're good to go.
For example. My one JD takes a AM107423 Deere filter. That cross references to a Wix 51394, to a Puro L14476, and a F**m 4967. When I cross ref the Puro L14476 at Wix, it comes back to a 51394. When I cross ref the Puro L14476 at F**m, it comes back to a 4967. When I cross ref the F**m at Wix, it comes back to the 51394. Therefore, the acceptable substitute filters all cross reference each other.
This tells me that each filter is an appropriate cross reference for the original app, and that each filter is a cross reference each other.
At that point, I deem it to be a safe substitute. Note that the Wix 51394 is also acceptable for my Kawasaki's.
Did that all make sense?