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Article
November/December 2002
Marudo Koi Farm
by Mamoru Kodama
Since a Dainichi Showa
won Grand Champion in 1991, no other Showa has won this
title. It is everybody's
keen interest
whose koi will be next to win this title of Grand Champion
with a Showa.
Among the many breeders, Hisashi Hirasawa
is one of the strongest candidates. He learned "Dainichi bloodline
and Dainichi-izm." Today, I interviewed Mr. Hisashi
Hirasawa at the Marudo Koi Farm.
Kodama:
Where did you learn about koi?
Hirasawa:
I lived under the sameroof with Mr. Minoru Mano for 18
years.
Kodama:
Really? You trained so many years.
Hirasawa:
My father was also a koi breeder, so I was able to study
at had been working at Dainichi for 18 years. In 1987, I
retired from Dainichi Koi Farm and took over the Marudo Koi
Farm.
Kodama:
What did you learn at Dainichi Koi Farm?
Hirasawa:
Well, I learned the importance of "body conformation." Another
thing is to be particular about "hi." Then, there
was no such thing as color enhancing food. So, we concentrated
on making better hi quality, redder hi, thicker hi. By all
means, we were crazy about body conformation and hi. The
body conformation is the body line. Unforced and relaxing
body conformation was what we were looking for. When koi
with good body conformation swims, the posture is breathtakingly
beautiful. Every koi hobbyist will feel the beauty beyond
description. Nishikigoi also has a beauty as it swims in
schools. But we breeders pursue the ideal body conformation
in an individual koi. It is ideal when we look at the body
conformation and feel good about it.
Kodama:
Since you resigned from Dainichi Koi Farm, it has been 15
years. What is your goal?
Hirasawa:
In a word, I want to breed koi that can win Grand Champion
at All Japan Koi Show. In other words, I would like to breed
a "Real Koi."
Kodama:
What do you mean by "Real Koi"?
Hirasawa:
Real Koi means what many people celebrate. I think there
are two criteria for Real Koi to be recognized by many people.
First is "a big koi." The second is "a beautiful
koi." The beauty means body conformation, quality, and
pattern. Every celebrated koi in the past has unforgettable
pattern, coloration, and body conformation. I want to breed
koi that will remain in everybody’s heart.
Kodama:
What do you mean by "big Koi"?
Hirasawa:
Directly speaking, the All Japan Koi Show is the place where
a koi can be recognized by many people. And I consider winning
Grand Champion at that Koi Show proves that the koi gets
the recognition. To win the Grand Championship, koi must
be big, more than 85 cm (34 in.).
Kodama:
I see. That is true. By the way, how is your breeding doing?
Hirasawa:
I have 39,600 square meters (9.785 acres) only for Tosai
(1-year-old koi.) I breed 40,000 koi there. In April, I have
about 5,000,000 fry hatch and of that 1,500,000 are Showa.
As soon as they hatch, I cull them to leave 300,000 to 400,000.
Out of them, I strictly select 5,000 Showa fry.
Kodama:
5,000 Showa out of 1,500,000!? You select only 1 out of 300
to raise. Are the parents Dainichi line?
Hirasawa:
I use a female from Dainichi. I want to breed a large koi.
So I use the line that has a large body out of Dainichi Showa
lines. As for a male Showa, I use the Marudo Showa that my
father left. I sometimes use other bloodlines, too. Dainichi
Showa
is the base of my Showa.
Kodama:
In 1991, since Mr. Masao Kato won Grand Champion with a Dainichi
Showa, no other Showa has won the title. I would definitely
like you to win this time with your Showa.
Hirasawa:
The Kato Showa is a very memorable Showa. I was still working
at Dainichi Koi Farm and bred it with my teacher. Since that
koi, no Showa has won the Grand Champion for 12 years. I
really want to breed a better Showa than my teacher and win
the Grand Champion.
Kodama:
Now, would you talk about your Marudo Koi Farm in more detail?
How big is your farm?
Hirasawa:
In total, my farm is about 118,800 to 128,700 square meters
(29 to 32 acres).
Kodama:
It is a huge area, isn’t it?! What do you breed there?
Hirasawa:
I mainly breed Showa, Sanke, and Kohaku. Every year, I have
100,000 tosai (one year old), 1,500 of two-year olds, 150
of three-year olds, and 50 to 70 of four-year olds.
Kodama:
That is a wonderful production. "Marudo" is a very
popular brand in Japan. Now please let us know more about
your Showa.
Hirasawa:
Since my father’s generation, we have bred Showa. It
was 15 years ago when I got a Showa from Dainichi and put
real effort in the breeding. From then on, I tried to cross
a Takeda Showa, a Sakai Showa, and so forth, with a female
Dainichi Showa to improve my Showa.
Kodama:
Do you think Dainichi line is the best as parents?
Hirasawa:
I believe so not because I was at Dainichi Koi Farm, but
when I look at the koi industry, I still conclude that the
Dainichi line is the best bloodline as parents. Especially
because I spent 18 years with Mr. Minoru Mano under the same
roof, I am very familiar with "good parents" out
of a Dainichi Showa.
Kodama:
We can almost say that a Marudo Showa is a Dainichi Showa
itself.
Hirasawa:
I would like to take over the last master’s will and
preserve the Dainichi bloodline.
Kodama:
What is your goal in Showa breeding?
Hirasawa:
Specifically speaking, to re-create the Kato Showa that won
Grand Champion in 1991 is my goal. The Kato Showa is one
of my benchmarks.
Kodama:
Please explain it exactly, which part of the Kato Showa you
want to achieve?
Hirasawa:
It is the beauty. A Showa can win Grand Championships with
its powerful looks at local koi shows. But when it comes
to the All Japan Koi Show, a Showa must have competitive
beauty against Kohakus and Taisho Sankes to win Grand Champion.
First, it must be more than 85 cm (34 in). Then the hi, sumi,
and shiroji (white ground) combine to become a pattern. The
pattern must hold its "impressive beauty" to everyone
who views it. A large Showa is unlikely to finish its sumi.
In this sense, the Kato Showa had its hi and sumi finished
beautifully on the white ground. The koi had a very competitive
beauty against a Kohaku and Sanke. My goal is still to achieve
the beauty of the Kato Showa. I want to breed bright and
large Showa at least more than 85 cm (34 in.). Recently,
a koi over 1 meter (40 in.) won Grand Champion. So it must
be more than 90 cm (36 in.) in the future. Anyway, Showa
needs not only to be powerful but also beautiful. That is
what I want to breed.
Kodama:
I agree with you. To win Grand Champion, the large size is
not enough. The koi still needs the beautiful look.
Hirasawa:
At class 15 (to 15 cm), 20 (from 15 to 20 cm) and 25 (from
20 to 25 cm), there are very beautiful Showa. But at class
80 (from 75 to 80 cm) or over 80 (over 80 cm), very few Showa
are as beautiful as Kohaku and Sanke. One of my Showa won
Best in Variety at the 34th ZNA All Japan Koi Show in Tokushima.
The Showa is a very bright koi. On the large hi pattern,
sumi is well designed. I would like to breed a good pattern
koi in this fashion. This Showa is also from the Dainichi
line. If I could breed a good patterned koi with these parents,
I think it can win Grand Champion. Anyway, I would like to
breed a "bright, lustrous, and beautiful koi."
Kodama:
I am looking forward to the day when Marudo Showa wins Grand
Champion.
Thank you for your time today.
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