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Article
January/February 2003
Nagashima Koi Farm
by Mamoru Kodama
The owner of Nagashima Koi Farm, known
as “Otozo,” is
now 49 years old and has
28 years of koi breeding experience.
He chooses Shiro Utsuri, Showa, and Gin Rin Showa and concentrates
on breeding quality ones. His koi, especially Shiro Utsuri,
is popular among Japanese koi hobbyists.
He is also actively involved in Mushigame-Rinyukai (breeders
club at Mushigame area).
Wonder of Showa in Yamakoshi
Kodama:
Please introduce us to your farm first.
Otozo:
I have about 8.7 acres in total. I use them for Tosai (1
year old), Nisai (2 years old), and Sansai (3 years old)—3.7
acres is for Tosai, 2.5 acres for Nisai, and 2.5 acres for
koi over Sansai. I produce 15,000 Tosai, 1000 Nisai,
and 150 Sansai at the time of harvest in autumn.
Kodama:
So you breed these three varieties with the 8.7 acres. How
about the proportion?
Otozo:
I have 5,000 Shiro Utsuri and 10,000 Showa and Gin
Rin Showa.
Kodama:
Mushigame is the famous area for Kohaku and Taisho Sanke
breeding. But you breed only Showa and Shiro Utsuri
in this area. It is very interesting. I wonder what made
you do so.
Otozo:
Because of the clay quality of Yamakoshi area (Mushigame
is one part of this), Kohaku and Taisho Sanke are the main
breeds. Few breeders produce Showa and Shiro Utsuri.
Niigata has many breeders, and competition is severe among
the breeders. If you breed what everybody breeds, you are
in that competition. So I wanted to breed what they did not
breed. This is why I have been breeding them for 25 years.
Kodama:
It sounds like a good idea to breed what nobody breeds, but
because clay quality is important, isn’t it a disadvantage
that you breed Showa in Yamakoshi, which is a
suitable area for Kohaku and Taisho Sanke breeding?
Otozo:
Yes, it is. For some reason, Showa cannot have good
hi when you breed them in Yamakoshi. Taisho Sanke can have
beautiful hi while Showa do not. It sounds strange
because they are both three colored koi, but it is truly
so. I finally thought clay quality causes this and found
another property in the Horinouchi area that is known to
be suitable for Showa breeding. I have about 2.5
acres there to breed Showa and Gin Rin Showa.In
case of Shiro Utsuri, because Shiro Utsuri do not need hi,
I can still breed them in the Yamakoshi area. So I breed
Shiro Utsuri near my house.
Kodama:
Does not the clay quality affect Shiro Utsuri?
Otozo:
Not really. Sumi comes up pretty good even on Showa.
It is just hi that does not appear well on Showa.
Also, sumi appears in concrete ponds. It is okay to breed
Shiro Utsuri here.
Kodama:
What kind of clay is suitable for Showa breeding?
Otozo:
Dark clay is good for Showa Hi. Hasshiki area of
Koide village has good clay.
Kodama:
I
s that where the Takahashi Koi Farm is?
Otozo:
Yes. The area is also known for Hasshiki watermelon. That
is a good place. Mr. Takahashi’s place is very rich
in water, too. There is a big river and clay has been washed
for decades. So it is not only dark clay, but also has a
lot of gravel.
Kodama:
They meet the conditions of good Showa breeding,
don’t they. I have heard from Mr. Kosaku Seki, that
the place that has hard clay and does not become muddy
is suitable for Shiro Utsuri breeding.
Otozo:
It is true that that kind of clay quality is good for koi
to live. But as long as they have enough sumi for me to cull
with, sumi does come up in the concrete pond. So I do not
feel it is inconvenient.
Shiro Utsuri of Otozo
Kodama:
Please let me know about your Shiro Utsuri. How many pairs
of parents do you have?
Otozo:
I have two pairs. One female is 13-years-old and the other
female is 23-years-old. They are both very high quality koi.
Kodama:
Please tell us more details.
Otozo:
The 23-year-old female is the one that won Kokugyo (Best
in Size) at the 22nd All Japan Nishikigoi Show in 1990. I
got it from the owner, Mr. Tomoaki Naito and have used it
as my parental koi.
Kodama:
That sounds great. Do you think it is necessary to use that
kind of famous koi?
Otozo:
At a koi show, the koi’s beauty is judged and evaluated
fairly. So I believe we should use these highly-judged, beautiful
koi at koi shows for parental koi. This Shiro Utsuri won
the prize by beating Kohaku, Taisho Sanke, and Showa.
It has the ideal quality.
Kodama:
Do you mean show quality koi by quality koi?
Otozo:
Yes. Some say that pattern is not as important as quality
in parental koi. But I think the offspring get similar patterns
to its parents. “Quality plus Pattern” are important
to breed beautiful and excellent koi. If you breed koi with
excellent pattern, I believe you would get koi with similar,
excellent pattern. The question is if you have the skill
to cull.
Kodama:
It is known that breeders consider quality as the top priority
in choosing parents.
Otozo:
on the other hand, considers “excellent pattern” as
important as quality. This is an excellent idea.
Achievement of Otozo
Kodama:
Please show us your proud koi.
Otozo:
I sell most of my koi when they are tosai. I often receive
thank you calls from all over Japan for my koi winning good
prizes at koi shows. But because I do not keep records of
each one of them, I have few. Recently, one Shiro Utsuri
won Rin’oh (Best in Size of ZNA) prize in class of
35 at ZNA All Japan Nishikigoi Show. It is from us.
Kodama:
Rin’oh prize is a great prize. It is equal to Kokugyo
prize (Best in Size) at All Japan Combined Nishikigoi show
by All Japan Nishikigoi Promotion Association (Breeders Association).
Because you use koi that won Best in Size before, you can
often get the Kokugyo-class Shiro Utsuri.
Otozo:
It is difficult to get a higher quality one than its parents,
but I think it is not that difficult to get similar quality
ones.
Kodama:
I understand why Shiro Utsuri from Otozo is popular among
Japanese hobbyists. You said that you sell most of them
when they are tosai. When do you usually start selling
them?
Otozo:
I do not sell them at all in autumn. I keep them in concrete
ponds and wait for the sumi to gradually come up. Then, I
sell them starting in March.
In autumn when I pull them from
mud ponds, their skins are not beautiful. But after keeping
them in concrete ponds until
spring, their skin becomes pure white. This is why I start
selling them in March.
Kodama:
That means that you sell about 5,000 starting in the spring.
Otozo:
I
keep about 300 of tategoi (future potential koi) and sell the rest.Otozo Shiro
Utsuri
Kodama:
Please explain to us the character of your Shiro Utsuri.
Otozo:
One of the reasons why my Shiro Utsuri is strong at koi shows
lies in its pure shiroji (white ground). Sumi quality is
important in Shiro Utsuri. And it is shiroji that enhances
the sumi.
When they are tosai,
it is preferable
that shiroji has a little bit of bluish ground. My Shiro
Utsuri show their sumi once when they are tosai. I will keep
those
that have excellent patterns and leave them in mud ponds.
In mud ponds, many koi lose their sumi again. Then I keep
those white koi one more year. Their sumi gradually comes
back. From my experience, koi that once lose its pattern
and bring it back later tends to be a good quality koi.
Kodama:
What do you think is the difficult part in Shiro Utsuri breeding?
Otozo:
Well, because Shiro Utsuri has Showa blood from
its ancestors, it has a little bit of hi on its body to some
extent. Some koi lose it while some koi keep it. It is hard
to decide if I should keep it or not in culling.
Kodama:
That is when you cull fries, am I correct?
Otozo: Yes.
Kodama:
How may fries do you have?
Otozo:
With the 2 pairs, I keep about 150,000 fries at first. Then,
by autumn, I decrease them to 5,000.
Kodama:
I just saw your Shiro Utsuri, but your Shiro Utsuri really
has nice “shiroji quality.” Because shiroji
quality is so high, sumi shines lacquer. Your koi are very
impressive.
Nishikigoi Philosophy
Kodama:
What is your “motto” or “Nishikigoi philosophy” in
breeding koi?
Otozo:
I think raising koi is the same as raising a child. It is
best to raise them naturally. I do not give them drastic
changes. For example, my green house has several concrete
ponds. Believing that every pond has the same water temperature
and water quality, I would move them from one to the next.
Only this change could cause health problems. So I pay the
most attention to keep the surroundings consistent and keep
them healthy. I think it is important until they have grown
and matured. This kind of gentle protection is necessary.Some
breeders raise koi more than 25 cm (10?) during winter time
by heating the pond. I think this is forcing koi. So
my motto is to provide koi with just adequate amount of food
or surroundings that they need as we humans do with our children.
Kodama:
I agree with you. Last of all, please introduce your koi
to the readers.
Otozo:
Please look at shiroji (white ground) first on my koi. Then,
please look at sumi quality. Even if, they are still hiding
underneath the shiroji and not showing them all, if you can
predict its pattern, please buy them with confidence. They
will come out gradually.
Kodama:
So if the shiroji is good and sumi pattern is recognizable
underneath shiroji, we can buy your koi with confidence.
Thank you very much.
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