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Kajigane Koi Farm- Mr. Kosaku Seki :Devoted His Life to Breeding
Shiro Utsuri
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| His house and greenhouse for Koi |
Nishikigoi as a representative of "Japanese
culture" has been introduced all
over
the world. The breeding is conducted
almost
everywhere in Japan. But as we all
know,
the Ojiya area in Niigata is especially
well
known for Nishikigoi breeding. Ojiya
city
has about 200 breeders. They all work
hard
to breed more beautiful Nishikigoi.
This
time, I would like to introduce Mr.
Kosaku
Seki, whose farm is called "Kajigane."
Out of so many varieties, Mr. Seki
breeds
only Shiro Utsuri and is highly recognized
as a specialist of Shiro Utsuri.
It was 1957 when he started breeding Nishikigoi.
He first purchased 100 fry of Showa from
Jyunidaira, where Showa breeding is famous,
to release them into the paddy fields. At
that time, he paid 1,000 Japanese yen for
the fry. In 1957, disease was not a problem.
He harvested more than 80 out of the 100
and sold them at a high price.
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| In 1958 when he was 30 years old, he started
breeding Koi. |
The result was good enough to satisfy him
and make him decide to go into the breeding
business, instead of buying fry from somebody
else. It was 1958, and he was 30 years old.
In that very year, one meeting with a Shiro
Utsuri changed his life. At the second All
Japan Combined Nishikigoi Show, a Shiro Utsuri
that won 2nd place in 60 bu captured him.
"The Shiro Utsuri was so beautiful and
impressive. I can still remember exactly
how it looked. I could not resist my feeling
to breed the Shiro Utsuri," he said.
He found the owner to negotiate a price.
The price, how- ever, was 700,000 Japanese
yen, and it was not affordable. So he decided
to take one of its sisters as a parent. He
selected the one with pure shiroji (white
ground) and fine sumi quality. He then purchased
a male and this is where Mr. Seki started.
The pair brought him excellent results-not
only at Koi shows in Niigata, but also the
All Japan Koi Show in Tokyo. His Koi from
the parents won many top awards including
Kokugyo (Best in Size) prize at the All Japan
Combined Nishikigoi Show. He still thanks
them. Because of them, his Shiro Utsuri leaped
into fame.
This female parent kept breeding excellent
quality Koi since 1958. But two years ago,
it passed away. He now has three pairs, and
all the pairs have her excellent quality.
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| Since about 1970, he has become a top specialist
of Shiro Utsuri. |
Every season, the three pairs breed 100,000
fry. After three cullings, he harvests about
10,000 pieces in autumn. Out of 10,000 pieces,
he selects about 600 pieces as tategoi for
the next year. Then, he pulls 500 pieces
of two-year-old Koi out of a mud pond, and
30 to 40 pieces of more than three-year-old
Koi from another mud pond. As a result, he
harvests 10,000 pieces of tosai, 500 pieces
of two-year-olds, and 30 to 40 pieces of
more than three-year-olds every year. Naturally
they are all Shiro Utsuri.
From around 1955 to 1965, most of the Shiro
Utsuri on the market were ones that resulted
from Showa breeing. However, his Shiro Utsuri
were different. He bred them only from male
Shiro Utsuri and female Shiro Utsuri. Shiro
Utsuri from Showa had a poor quality skin.
To make matters worse, secondary hi (red)
came out when it became two to three years
old. Because the parents were both Shiro
Utsuri, his Koi have a pure white background
and good sumi quality that distinguishes
his Koi from the other Shiro Utsuri.
After winning Kokugyo prizes at the All Japan
Combined Nishikigoi Show continuously, he
became so famous that even top Koi hobbyists
in Tokyo invited him to speak about Shiro
Utsuri at lectures. The lectures seemed to
work well not only for the hobbyists, but
also for him.
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| Together with his wife in a harvesting season
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"For the lectures, 1 had to organize
my ideas to make materials. 1 had to deepen
my thoughts on Shiro Utsuri to prepare for
some sharp questions. Then, 1 got much sharper
questions. That forced me to study more on
Shiro Utsuri to answer them. Then, before
1 knew it, I was really studying and concentrating
on Shiro Utsuri breeding only," he said
with a big smile. Since 1958 until 2000,
for more than 40 years, he has being breeding
only Shiro Utsuri. He has never bred other
varieties such as Kohaku and Sanke.
It is common sense now that a hard clay pond
is suitable for Shiro Utsuri breeding. Nishikigoi
looks for worms with its mouth in the mud
on the pond bottom. As a result, the pond
becomes muddy. In case of Shiro Utsuri, this
muddy crowded pond is not good. This is why
Mr. Seki does not have ponds in Takezawa
where he lives. He goes far away to the Teradomari
area to find good mud ponds for Shiro Utsuri.
Because the area has very hard clay, the
pond does not become muddy. Although this
is already a common knowledge among breeders,
it is Mr. Seki who first discovered this
fact.
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| At the age of 73 years, he is still a top
breeder. |
Most of the ponds of Koi hobbyists
are made
of either concrete or liner. Because
they
do not become muddy, they are very
good to
keep Shiro Utsuri. But when the filtration
does not work properly, water gets
bluish.
This blue dirty water is not good for
sumi.
So it is important to raise Shiro Utsuri
in clear water to keep them beautiful.
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