In the early 1970s upon graduating from high school, I went in the Koi business without learning from anybody. My parents were office workers, but since we always had rice fields in the Shiodani district and since I had always watched my relatives and seniors run Koi businesses, I wanted to use the fields for growing Koi, not rice. I was drawn to their dedication for Koi raising, and at the same I became attached to Nishikigoi itself, too. At the time, the winter custom was to work away from home, but I couldn’t do that because my mother was sick. So I spent the winter feeding the Koi in the mountain ponds, and that was probably the reason I became attracted to “the beauty and charm of Nishikigoi”
Since then, I set a goal on becoming champion at national Koi shows. It took me 10 years to raise “Scarlet Queen”, Grand Champion of The 30th All Japan Nishikigoi Show held by Zen Nippon Airinkai. The Kohaku of the Shiodani district was known to have nice patterns but not to grow very big, so I focused on making them big. I made efforts by visiting Dainichi Koi Farm to acquire breeding methods and by asking Koi lovers in order to have prize-winning Koi as my oyagoi. I was very happy when all of my efforts culminated in winning the Grand Champion. The attraction of Scarlet Queen is the outstanding quality of the shiroji and beni and the “Pink beni.” This type of beni was known not to grow because of its hard ground, but it did.
My ideal Kohaku would have a beautiful shiroji, not just good quality beni. Thick shiroji with a pure white color is the best. Thick skin with fukurin is likely to become yellowish, so I want to produce Koi with fine shiroji. My recent goals are to create a bumpy-looking Koi with nice shiroji and solid “fukurin, and of course, good body conformation. *Fukurin is a swell in between scales. A solid fukurin gives a Koi a dynamic look and brings out charm that cannot be seen in a young one. It’s not that I have lost all of the Kansuke genealogy. I still have two to three sansai that can be used as oyagoi, so I am crossing them to produce a New Kansuke with solid fukurin, thick beni, and fine shiroji.
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