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Article
Jan/Feb 06
Hosokai Koi Farm
I interviewed Mr. Hosokai and introduced his Asagi in the
July/August issue of 2005. But this shows only a part of
his farm. He has another excellent variety, which is Goshiki.
Because his Goshiki have won many top awards at the All Japan
Nishikigoi Show, it is popular among Japanese koi hobbyists.
Kodama:
Please tell us about the famous "Goshiki of the Hosokai Koi
Farm."
Hosokai:
It is after all the "Kokugyo Prize" (Best in Size) that makes
your koi recognized as excellent. But it is difficult to
reach that level. The koi in picture 1 is my representative
Goshiki. As you can see, the hi is truly red and very clean.
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| 1. Winner
at All Japan Nishikigoi Show |
2. Kuro
Goshiki that holds strong dark elements |
3. Enhanced
the Hi |
4. Decreased
dark elements |
Kodama:
It is beautiful. It is common that sumi starts showing up
on the hi plate.
Hosokai:
My koi are originally from the Kuro Goshiki family. So it
tends to get dark all over the body. Please look at Picture
2. This is a parent. As you can see, it is a dark koi; its
offspring also tends to darken its hi pattern. It took me
a while to remove this.
I tried to remove the black and improve my koi. On page 25
see the difference from Picture 3 to 4.
Kodama:
I see. You made a great amount of effort to improve the beauty.
How did your Goshiki start?
Hosokai:
In 1992, Mr. Minuma was breeding good Kuro Goshiki. I got
a female from him. And I got a male from Mr. Aizawa. From
the pair, I got the koi in Pictures 1, 3, and 4.
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| Introducing
a jumbo Benigoi blood to make his Goshiki larger. |
Kodama:
Observing the development in Pictures 2, 3, and 4, we can
see that the hi is getting brighter.
Hosokai:
Yes. Because I used Mame Goshiki as a male parent, the body
tends to get whitish like Picture 4. I think the sumi degenerates
from hi plates.
Kodama:
What kind of ideas do you have to improve your Goshiki?
Hosokai:
At the All Japan Nishikigoi Show, there is a title for Best
Koi in each variety. To win the title, koi must be at least
75-80 cm (30-32in). For koi to grow that big, I have to
introduce the character to koi. I have Benigoi (see picture
on page
23) that grows more than 1 m (40in). I am planning to introduce
the blood of this Benigoi so that all Goshiki can grow bigger.
Kodama:
I am impressed with your challenge. How many Goshiki do you
breed now?
Hosokai:
I have two pairs. I release 500,000 fry to 5 ponds, which
are about 1.7 acre total. I cull them three times and harvest
5000 to 6000 excellent ones.
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| Hosokai
and Kodama, 40 years of friendship |
Kodama:
How do you cull Goshiki?
Hosokai:
Asagi is difficult, but Goshiki is easy. It is just to choose
ones with a nice hi pattern.
Kodama:
What is the difficult part of Goshiki?
Hosokai:
In my case, when the hi quality is not good, sumi appears
on the hi plate because I breed Kuro Goshiki. So it is important
to choose ones with thick and good hi quality. In culling
fry, the hi is still thin and orange; I pay full attention
to the quality.
Kodama:
I see. When the bloodline is different, the culling method
will get different as well.
Hosokai:
When the blood of Benigoi is introduced, the culling method
will become different again. As breeders, it is critical
to choose good ones out of many selections. Not to throw
away good ones is the most important skill required to breeders,
I think.
Kodama:
Can you learn the skill easily?
Hosokai:
It took me 20 years to learn how to cull right for Asagi
and 12 years for Goshiki. I do not think you can learn even
a tip of Nishikigoi breeding techniques in a few years.
Kodama:
Niigata breeds such beautiful koi because breeders in Niigata
have the technique based on the 30 to 40 years of experience.
Hosokai:
Absolutely. I pass my techniques to my sons. My sons hand
it over to grandsons. So in the Nishikigoi industry of Niigata,
those techniques from the ancestors have been transferred
over the generations. This is the reason why Niigata can
breed the most beautiful Nishikigoi in the world.
Kodama:
Thank you very much for your time today.
Point in Purchasing Hosokai Goshiki
1. When buying 2-to-3 year olds, the hi is not very red
yet. It does not seem to be beautiful in a look. Some may
have sumi on its hi and look a bit dirty. But please do not
be disturbed as long as the hi pattern is good.
2. Because Hosokai Goshiki is the Kuro Goshiki line, the
entire body tends to get dark. And the hi is finished to
the contrary of the black. This is the character of his koi.
Make sure to feed color-enhancing food such as Champion.
3. His koi turns out beautiful when it becomes more than
5 years old. Please keep that in mind. In other words, his
koi will be show quality when it is big rather than when
it was small and young.
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