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NOGYOSAI

The Nogyosai is an annual show which takes place the last weekend in October in Ojiya in Japan. It is effectively a harvest festival for koi breeders who are the only ones allowed to enter koi. Occasionally some of these koi have already been sold and also after the show is over some are sold but all of the areas top breeders enter koi in addition to some lesser known breeders and some amateur breeders. There is a wonderful atmosphere at the show where all the famous faces can be seen comparing koi and judging koi because the koi are judged by breeders so there can be no higher accolade than for a breeder to win a top prize judged by his fellow professionals.

This year the show was blessed with superb sunny weather and thankfully we had the time to see all of the koi in the show, photograph and video some of them and chat to the farmers and some of the other visitors to the show. The standard of koi was incredibly high and whilst occasionally there would be a koi whose pattern did not appeal I can honestly say that there were no bad koi in the entry of over 1,000 koi. It is interesting to point out that some of these koi will have been harvested only a few days and none more than a couple of weeks so therefore not yet in prime showing condition but still looking fabulous.

The Grand Champion was won by Dainichi with an 84cm Showa (left) which as many of you may know is my particular favourite variety. Forget the text book as this koi has a most unusual pattern but was the best Showa I have ever seen and thoroughly deserved to win but just in case the judges were not sure about awarding a Showa the prize Dainichi also put in an 82cm Sanke (right) which got Runner Up prize.

We were quite pleased to see that out of 10 top prizes 5 went to breeders who we always visit, two to Hiroi, one to Oomo, one to Torazo and one to Kase. Hiroi Koi Farm won best in size up to 50cm with a superb Goshiki and best in size 55cm with a Showa (left). Both koi were 3 years old and the Showa a little small for Hiroi Koi at 3 years but Kazou Hiroi told me later that at 2 years they mistakenly sexed it as male and even though it was of good quality it was placed in the male pond this last summer to grow on. Clearly koi echoes human life in that females get treated better than males and so next year she would be placed in the female mud pond (if not purchased) and put on some superb size.

The Showa (right) was bred by Fujio Oomo, a name well known to many but perhaps not previously considered in the top drawer of Showa breeders, this prize has catapulted him into that position. As usual he was working hard with visitors when he was telephoned with the good news that he had won such a prestigious award, the koi is 65cm 4 years old and destined to develop if left in Japan into an incredible example of Showa. The Showa is bred from Fujio’s own parents which were originally bred from a Dainichi Female Showa and a Takeda Male Showa both of which are still going strong in his current breeding programme. This koi was also for sale and I suspect that by now has probably been sold.

Tony McCann

OOMO BREEDING STORY

During our recent visit to Japan we spent over half a day in one of Fujio Oomo’s fish houses where we had the opportunity to select Tosai and be shown his Super Jumbo Tategoi Tosai. The largest of which measured 47cm at 10 months old! We also asked him to explain just how the koi for sale are reduced dramatically in numbers from the original fry at hatching stage.

From Tosai to Sansai - Fujio Oomo’s explanation of his production of Showa

Last year on 29^th May Fujio Oomo allowed his parent Showa to carry out a natural spawning from which the only the black fry are retained totaling approximately 100,000. After a few days these were reduced to 50,000 and placed in a mud pond, these are culled 5 – 6 times to finally produce 150 tosai at harvest time which last year was late and took place in November. Culling is decided first on quality and second on pattern. At harvest time these tosai were between 25 and 29cm, they were kept in concrete ponds within a greenhouse at 22°, fed 3% of body weight over 6 feeds per day and grew from November to March approximately 10cm. Out of the koi grown on in the greenhouse 60 only from the spawning will be selected to grow to nisai. Feeding will cease for the 10 days prior to the koi being placed in the mud ponds during May and for 2 weeks after the koi are placed in the mud pond, they are then fed twice a day a mixture of pellet food and in the hottest summer months silk worm pupae before being harvested in October. They will have put on on average 20cm resulting in the super jumbo tosai achieving 55 to 62cm at nisai. Of the 60 koi harvested as nisai only 15 will be retained to be grown to sansai next year.

When you consider how long and how much effort it takes to produce a Nisai or Sansai koi it is remarkable that they are as cheap as they are!

Tony McCann