Page 29 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 17

two men are legends here in the Koi industry and
people often ask me why I say my relationship with the
breeders in Niigata is unique? Well over the last four
decades I have been visiting the breeders here and
buying Koi the respect and encouragement they have
given me over those years have been amazing.
Whenever we get together our conversation always
goes back to those early years, how things have
changed and what the future holds as now both their
sons run the family businesses.
WEATHER Sakai san likes to remind me how back in 1981 on my
first visit to his Koi house and home he would prefer to, Sometimes our customers
PLAYS AN in his words ‘hide in his house’ rather than try to deal are lucky enough to join
the breeder while they are
with a foreigner. Mano san always likes to talk about making the selection and
IMPORTANT the first time we met. He was selecting Yamabuki Tosai pick Koi at the same time
PART IN THE in his old wooden fish house when I appeared behind for themselves.
him, scaring the life out of him, and I was also pointing
SUCCESS OF to a Tosai he had selected, which only had one pectoral
fin. He tells the story slightly different to me saying he
A BREEDER’S knew that and was seeing if I noticed it – a likely story,
SEASON but his smile and laugh now was the same back then.
It was also Mano san who in 1994 sat me down in his
home and suggested (actually told me to) start
promoting and writing about Niigata Koi which I have
done ever since. It was Sakai san with Tanaka san and
the late Kazuto Ikarashi san who were my guarantors
to allow me to live in the old school house up in
Mushigame back in 1999. So like with so many of the
breeders my business dealing and friendship started for the breeders Koi, on top of this now is making sure
way back then. their Koi stay clear of diseases, especially KHV. So the
challenges facing breeders are continual and also the
Our conversation turned to the current year and as I weather is completely out of their control. These
mentioned earlier we started to talk about how the evenings spent with them and other breeders are the
weather played such an important part on whether it best way to learn so much about Koi and the way they
will be a good year for their Koi or a difficult one. Heavy look towards the future.
snowfall during the winter months meant lots of fresh
water to fill up the mud ponds, less snow means less Many of our customers wish to visit us as early as
quality water. A cold and rainy spring delays the possible at the start of a new year to select Koi, but one
breeding season and if the breeding has been of the best times to join us here is during late May to
successful and fry are out in the mud ponds then again end of June, the reason for this is that many breeders
the weather needs to be just right. In the past heavy are doing the final selection of their Tosai and the fish
rains bring floods and losing lots of fry means they that remain called ‘Tateshita’ become available for sale.
have to try to breed again. Weather is most probably Sometimes our customers are lucky enough to join the
the main factor to it being a good season or bad one

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