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Article
September/October 2004
Kansuke Koi Farm –Part
2
by Mamoru Kodama
From June through August, it is the
season of culling koi in Niigata. In the entire Niigata,
you will see more than
1000 people involved with “culling fry.” Koi
dealers in Japan pay attention to culling fry because they
could become a future Grand Champion. I would like to continue
the interview with the breeder, Mr. Seiji Tomono.
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Kansuke
Kohaku grew 28 in 3 years.
Most of his Koi are sold at the age of 2. The 2 year-old
Koi are relatively thin. But they
will gain such distinguished
body conformation with their growth. Mr. Tomono hopes
that hobbyists who obtained his Koi challenges this
body conformation.
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Kodama:
Every breeder seriously breeds koi and believes in his koi.
When did you start having confidence in your koi?
Tomono:
I think that is when I won champion. After winning the championship,
I realized that “koi at this level” is the koi
at the grand champion level. No matter how hard I studied
the grand champion koi bred by others at the All Japan Nishikigoi
Show, I could not really understand the level of Japan’s
best koi until I won with my own koi. That is the time I
finally got confident in my own koi breeding.
Kodama:
I see. Please tell us how you breed champion koi.
Tomono:
As you know, this area called Shiodani is famous for Kohaku.
Beautiful Kohaku have been bred here for a long time. But
when I studied, no Japanese grand champion had been bred
at all from here, not even once. So I studied why and noticed
that most of the grand champion koi are more than 85 cm (34?).
Koi in the Shiodani area become beautiful but do not grow
big. I finally noticed that this is the fatal point, and
my challenge to breed a large koi started.
Kodama: Interesting.
Tomono: It took me 10 years to win the
grand champion since I came to that discovery. I have done
various things to breed
champion koi. What I learned from this process is that “I
must always have the goal in mind and focus on achieving
it.”
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Kodama:
What did you do exactly for 10 years to achieve the goal?
Tomono:
I studied about breeders who were winning champions. At the
time, Dainichi Koi Farm bred large koi and was Japan’s
best koi breeder. So I went to his place every day and studied
how to breed large koi.
Kodama:
Then, what did you notice?
Tomono:
DNA. I thought I must introduce the bloodline of big growth
into Shiodani.
Kodama:
I see. But, I do not think Dainichi has been the best only
for its size.
Tomono:
I agree. It is not just the size. His koi have thick beni.
Koi from Dainichi thickens its hi plate as it grows. Therefore,
hi does not disappear in the process of growth. Hi could
fade and disappear if a koi grows too fast. I developed my
koi for “the large size” and “the thick
beni.”
Kodama:
How did you develop your koi?
Tomono:
Developing koi is all about finding the match of parents.
So I began with looking for parents.
Kodama:
You must have had a difficult time to find parents.
Tomono:
To be honest, it is not that difficult because I can find
them at koi shows.
Kodama:
I see. At the All Japan Nishikigoi Show, all the excellent
koi come to enter from all over Japan. That is the best
place to look for parents. But do owners sell to you willingly?
Tomono:
It is not that difficult when I explain and sincerely ask
that I want to use his koi as a parent. I think owners also
feel happy to be a part of establishing a bloodline.
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Ponds that keep hobbyists' Koi in Niigata
Many hobbyists in Japan leaves Koi to excellent breeders
in order to win grand champions. They keep 20-30 Koi
in 0.5-2 Acres ponds. It usually costs $300-$1000 for
one season, sometimes $2000 for a special Koi. |
Kodama:
We
should appreciate koi hobbyists’ understanding on
the breeding. What is going to happen next?
Tomono:
In the old days, we crossed two to three males to one female.
So even though I found a good match, I could not confirm
the male parent. Now, because of artificial insemination,
I can specify the pair. I think this is an epoch-making method
in koi development. I use this method all the time.
Kodama:
How many parents do you have now?
Tomono:
I have many parent candidates. The main ones are seven pairs.
Kodama:
Do you change the combination of the pair every year?
Tomono:
Once I find a good match, I do not change. Because it is
a living creature, accidents can occur. Male or female parents
have died right before the spawning. At the time, the idea
of which replacement to use flashes in my mind. So I ALWAYS
think about the possible combination. If I do not do this,
I cannot make the best pairing when necessary. This is very
important.
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In October, Koi are pulled out of mud ponds and displayed
in about 10t (2500 gal.) ponds for buyers. Mr. Tomono
is happy with the harvest.
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Kodama:
I agree. Excellent koi all originated from the combination
of the parents.
Tomono:
One more important factor goes to making a champion koi.
It is fact that a koi hobbyist eventually raises the koi.
If the hobbyist does not have a good pond and good raising
skills, a potential grand champion koi cannot become a champion.
I breed koi with excellent bloodline parents that have produced
grand champions. I raise them to two to three years old (35–60
cm: 14–24?) and sell them. A grand champion requires
the size of 85 cm (34?). So customers need to raise the koi
from 35–85 cm. The 50 cm (20?) is up to the customers.
If they cannot raise the koi, any koi even with the greatest
potential, cannot become the grand champion. This is where
the dilemma lies.
Kodama:
I see. Not many customers have ideal ponds to raise grand
champion koi. And many of them are too busy to take care
of the koi. This is why in Niigata many ponds keep koi
for customers. I think Dainichi Koi Farm which produced
many champion koi, had many ponds to keep customers’ koi.
Tomono:
It is true that the chances are low when koi hobbyists raise
koi. But our job is to make “koi that hobbyists can
enjoy.” Raising champions is a thrilling challenge.
I believe it is the best pleasure that we can get in this
hobby. I would like hobbyists to enjoy this best pleasure
themselves.
Kodama:
In Japan, excellent koi are raised in dealers’ pond.
My company has many ponds. I have them to provide this service
to raise champion koi for my customers.
Tomono:
The growing skills of your staff are at the highest level
in Japan. Many of my koi have grown at your place for koi
shows. This is how your staff helps hobbyists; however, I
do not think this is how it should be. After all, koi are
for hobbyists to enjoy and for them to raise by themselves.
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Kodama
examines excellent selections of Koi that went through 4
strict culling of Mr. Tomono.
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Kodama:
Because of housing conditions, not many people can afford
large ponds in Japan. They cannot have ponds to raise grand
champions even though they would love to. This is why they
leave koi to me. Hobbyists in the United States have a
lot better environment than the Japanese. If they want
to, they can build a large pond.
Tomono:
That sounds wonderful. If you have a good facility and provide
proper care, my koi will grow to be beautiful like the one
on the picture. I have absolute confidence and promise that
they would become grand champions.
Kodama:
It is such a promise, isn’t it?
Tomono:
All excellent koi begins with believing in koi.
Kodama:
Thank you very much for sharing your valuable experience
and thoughts.
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