These mountains are home to a very
special fish. A place full of undiscovered cultural
treasures For many of us a place full of mystery and darkness One of those
well-kept mysteries is the Japanese Nishikigoi There are only limited groups of people
on our planet who knows about these swimming art pieces. This specific fish is
not only an important part of the Japanese culture but for many also an
adventure that starts in the mountains of the Yamakoshi area in western Japan.
For generations koi breeders worked towards that one single moment a year, a
stunning spectacle where people from all over the world come together to be part
of this event. This is where standards of the Japanese culture comes to life. The
honor and prestige associated with this fish goes further than most ever
imagined. In part 2 of this series we dive even deeper into the origin of this
mysterious fish. We follow breeders and hobbyists who pursue a dream to achieve
the highest goal. This is "Inside The Secret World of Koi" It is late October, most of the Japanese
koi breeders are busy with the latest preparations before winter arrives in
his part of Japan They are working hard to harvest all
their latest koi fish from the mud ponds in the mountains. During the cold
winter months all the fish needs to be inside. Outside these fish have zero
chance to survive. This area is known for the meters of snow it receive every
winter from the far north. From the Arctic Ocean and via Russia cold air
collided with the Western Sea of Japan. And as a strange as it may sound these
koi breeders depend on the large amounts of snow. The snow is an essential part of
growing these swimming juwels. But before winter arrives the breeders prepare for a
period in which many things are than in fall.. TOSAI! Mention the name Dainichi Koi Farm and
almost every hobbyist in the world knows who we talk about. The Dainichi Koi Farm is one of the biggest breeders in Japan who needs no explanation. Breeders such as Momotaro, Sakai Fish Farm and Dainichi have dominated the old japan
koi show for the past ten years when it comes to the biggest prizes to be won
during this World Championships. Their fish are bred from the best bloodlines
in world. It is now winter time Almost all koi breeders in this part of Japan,
are busy and selecting and selling their one-year-old fish, also known as Tosai.
But in the midst of all those fuss the breeders are preparing for something
much more important. A special event in Tokyo that every breeder from Japan has
been working towards all year long. This is the moment for the breeders to
present their pride to a global audience It is what every breeder dreams of
winning the first prize at the All japan Koi Show 2020 The Grand Champion. It has been
eight years since the Dainichi Koi Farm won the All Japan Koi Show. Shigeru Dainichi will make another attempt at the title in just a few days from now. A few dozen employees work on this farm
who are responsible for the development, growth and health of the koi day in and
day out. It is a fact that the health is one of the most important factors in the
life of a Koi. These fish are more than just a simple pet. The koi are shipped all over the world,
transporters drive daily to and from the airport in Tokyo to send the koi to the
new destination. The fish are shipped in the most careful manner so that any kind
of stress is removed as well as possible The breeders prepare the koi as good as
possible for transport. An adjusted diet, fresh water, a sleeping aid and sometimes
cooling elements, the lower the temperature the less oxygen the fish
uses. This means that the koi also arrives in much better conditions when
they are shipped during the colder periods in Japan. In just a few days it is time for the
annual All Japan Koi Show 2020. Here to preparations are in full swing at the
Dainichi Koi Farm, this is the moment that everything has to go well there are
simply no room for mistakes. We find Shigeru Mano busy with their selection of their annual Fish. Every single koi is selected
for quality from birth to the second year of life. Sometimes breeders have
more than 10 of those rounds. The higher quality the more expensive the koi, and
even at this size the koi are worth a lot of money. But more about this later. We go back two months in time I want to
introduce to you one of the most passionate hobbyist in the whole world.
With an eye for Champions this well-respected hobbyist has won a
considerable range of prizes in and outside Japan. May I introduce you to mr.
Kerr a hobbyist from the United Kingdom. That shows are important for the hobby
is a well-known fact, only here a dozen judges consisting of pros and breeders
determined which koi is the best in his or her class. And the best of the entire
show he can call himself the Grand Champion for a whole year. This specific
show - the Nagaoka koi show - is one of the latest shows before the grand final in
Tokyo. Despite the huge different in physical size and a field of
participants some koi on this show can also be seen during the All Japan Koi
Show in Tokyo. The koi show is about to start.
Breeders and invitees gather for judging it is a tradition to start judging the
best koi of the show: The Grand Champion. Today choosing the grand champion will
only take two rounds during the first round the three best fish that have to
change of winning this title will be selected. During a second and possibly
third round the judges choose the big winner of the show. The day starts with bad weather, despite the rain this does not stop the judges from going
out and judging the best koi. Judges provide their best preferences
for a grand Champion one by one. The excitement is clearly visible that you
can expect at this annual competition After an extremely careful count, the
results of the first round follows. The three contenders are picked up from
their vat and are exhibited again to the judges for the second voting round. It soon becomes clear that there's a obvious winner. The winner of the show is Donald a UK hobbyist who wins the Grand
Champion prize of this show with his Nogami Kohaku. A stunning fish where the
judge has found this fish to be the best in body skin quality and size to win. "I am very pleased" It is winter and traditionally we start
the trip with a visit to the Yagenji Koi Farm. Daisuke and Toshinori are busy
with selling their koi. What is different than in the autumn is that the ponds are
filled with one-year-old fish or also called Tosai. During this period breeders mainly sell their smaller fish to dealers around the world. It is always a pleasure to walk around
here at the Yagenji Koi Farm. Everything is so well organized, clean
and the brothers are so kind to show you around at their farm every single time you visit them. After a last visit to the new Koi House it is time to continue our
trip. I'm on my way to the next appointment. A short stop at my favorite
Sushi Restaurant provides me the necessary energy and satisfaction for
the next appointment and the rest of the day. In our series we visit mainly breeders
in a Niigata area known and unknown. New in our series is the ISA Koi Farm. This
huge complex with several departments is located at the foot of the Yamakoshi
mountains in Ojiya. ISA Koi Farm is run by Mitsunori Isa is one of the top
breeders in Japan. The koi farm started selling koi in 1970. Mainly Kohaku but soon
to showa variety was added. After winning the best in size prize with one
of his showa's the farm came very popular. Today Mitsunori San mainly grows about
70% Showa and the rest Sanke and Kohaku. Looking around here is great. The quality
is such a pleasure to see. Mitsunori San hospitality is amazing.
I get to freedom to take a closer look and discuss some of their fish more
about this in the next video. I enjoy the fact that I can watch this
fish. The skin quality is absolutely amazing. But all about this in the next
upcoming video. For now Donald comes to see one of his Koi. After a
year of absence, he can finally see the development that the fish has gone
through. No stranger in this series: Donald! We
meet him again at the Isa Koi Farm busy talking to Mitsunori Isa. For now
Donald comes to see one of his purchases Koi, after a year of absence he finally
can see the development that the fish has made. Nice! Size now mister Mitsunori? 67 cm The Sumi (black) started to come up? Do you think the Sumi think will go over the top? Come over the back of the Koi? Very pleased.
Volume is much better, much better! What size do you think it will be? + 8 cm? 67 now and 75 in October? About 75... You can do it, you can do it! Yes, I saw it in october And I liked it! But I was a little bit concerned at the body
shape was a little bit slim, but you can see that Mitsunori have carried on
feeding and it's got a much more volume to it. The body shape I think has improved a lot in three months. So I'm very pleased Donald is a satisfied man happy with the development of his Showa. Before I leave
to my next appointment I get a chance to see some great fish up close. This Maruten Showa is at the top of my
list what a great fish! Also during this trip I have some time
left to watch some of my own koi. I drive to the YamaMatsu Koi Farm to see my Matsunosuke Sanke. I'm very pleased to see how good the condition still is even
during the winter period. About one year ago I have decided to buy
this koi at the age of two. At the moment she is three years old and for upcoming
years she will stay growing in Japan. The breeder will take care of my fish for a
fixed amount. I'm very curious how she will develop an upcoming period. I have been looking forward to this
visit since October back at the Torazo family. I'm very
pleased to have this friendship with one of the best breeders from Japan.
Tsuyoshi Kawakami and his family are part of the Nishikigoi history, their
farm is already for more than 100 years located here in Ojiya. Tsuyoshi San has
made time for me to talk about their farm. He is pleased to see how the hobby
developed these days: Growing Koi needs space. Not only the
smaller fish need space but also the bigger koi up to one meter grow outside
during the summer periods. These ponds are called mud ponds, the best growing
environment in one of the most peaceful places in Japan. Tsuyoshi invites me to his best Tosai of
this year. With his small masterclass he proudly presented these amazing Koi. During this time of the year dealers from
all over the world comes to buy one-year-old koi. After the interview we meet with a
dealer from the United States who is selecting his new stock. These are the moments that I feel
blessed to be in Japan and enjoy every aspect of the Japanese culture including
the Japanese kitchen. As always I want to thank the Torazo family for their
hospitality. Climate changes are clearly visible here
at this time of the year. This area normaly receives three to four meters of snow
during a single winter. But everything is different this year, luckily the weather
is finally change. Snow! We return just like last October to the
Shintaro Koi Farm. Masaru Saito is waiting for us to show his best
one-year-old koi. The Shintaro Koi Farm is mainly popular because of the Matsunosuke Sanke.This bloodline
is so famous that many hobbyists dreams of getting one of these amazing Koi. Breeders in Japan have only limited space to grow Koi. So it's not
surprising that many of these koi are very expensive. The intense care all starts
when the Koi to hatch. These Tategoi are absolutely amazing
and wait a great future. at the moment they're about eight months
old and will develop more in the upcoming months and also this summer
period in the mud ponds outside in the Mountains. it's time to say goodbye to the Shintaro
family. I want to thank them for the hospitality and kindness and for me it
is also time to leave Niigata. I will travel to the Old Japan Koi Show in
Tokyo. we started our journey at the Dainichi
Koi Farm. Shigeru Mano can proudly call itself the big winner of this world
championship. With his 93 cm Kohaku the Dainichi Koi Farm in the owner Mr. Pan
from China, are allowed to take the great honor. A place among all the other big
winners of previous editions. Shigeru San is proudly standing
around the barrel with the winner inside. It is the 51th
edition of the All Japan Koi show. Also the largest stage where the best fish
from japan compete for the big prizes. Many visitors from all over the world
comes to Tokyo to visit this event. Donald has also deployed several fish
this year including a Showa from the ISA koi farm were visited him a few
days ago. Donald has won a big prize with one of his fish and we have time to chat. Yes I saw the koi at ISA koi Farm. the showa breeder in Nagaoka, and I
asked to buy it and he said he couldn't sell it to me
because it was going into the Niigata Auction. So I really liked the koi and I
asked Ryuki Narita if he would buy it for me. at the the auction. And I was
lucky enough to get it and it's just improved it's now 69 cm and it's a three
year old, so I bought it as a 2 year old and now a 3 year old and it's grown
really well it's got a female body shape for a male koi but very pleased with it.
I bought a house way back in 1993 and in the garden there was a pond and about 2
years after I'd moved in I suddenly because this pond was covered with a big
lily, and I suddenly realized there was three or four tiny little fish in this
pond. And that started me off so and I kept putting Koi into this pond, no
filtration and they kept dying. So I thought I'd better find out what I was
doing so that's what got me involved in in keeping koi. I've been coming over to Japan for about
13 years now I like the Niigata area because all the
breeders are concentrated in one area and as much it's easy to get around, I
haven't been down to the south of Japan too often. But the distances are so so
great you know you can only see one breeder every day you know, so I much
prefer the north. I think it's going through different phases in different
countries I think it's quite an expensive hobby now, it's quite a
high-maintenance hobby. People spend a lot of money on their ponds but they
seem to be reluctant to spend a lot of money on buying really good koi which is
strange... I think it's very important because it's
a shop window you see two thousand of the best koi in the world and you
suddenly realize the standard you have to get to to compete, so just getting a
koi to come to this show is an achievement in itself, that's good enough
to come to this show. well I'm getting too old now so I've had this year right
four first, two seconds and six thirds so I think that I've peaked I think in
terms of getting Koi to the old Japan. during the Nagaoka koi show last October
you were introduced to a fish by Dutch hobbyist, a Kohaku that won the best in
size during that show has now also won a big prize here. I spoke to Shigeyoshi Tanaka from the Marujyu Koi Farm. He is the breeder of this koi.
Shigeyoshi San is no stranger, my first experience with koi in Japan was on his
koi farm. In addition to his knowledge he speaks excellent English. So this is a Nisai (two year old) Kohaku, about 44 cm. Just after harvest the dealer saw the Koi and picked it up and we made a deal. Last October she already won the best in size prize at the Nagaoka Koi Show. I put her into a conditioning pond and now she won the Miyabi Prize. It is the first time that I win the Miyabi prize with a Koi A few years ago I won the Kokugyo Prize and now the Miyabi prize. I am really happy! Many customers are here to congratulate us. This bloodline speciality is now about three to four years old, so it will get even better. So I am really looking forward to the future of this Koi. I want to make the body line a bit wider. The owner and I are talking about that now. This is still a Tategoi. The Marujyu Koi Farm is located at the most beautiful viewing point in Yamakoshi. I ask Shige how he prepares the Koi before a Koi Show. I have a concrete pond for the conditioning of the Koi. I keep them in that pond. The Koi went in the concrete pond for 2 months after harvest. After 2 months we start the conditioning. After that we entry the Koi to the Show. The All Japan Koi Show is the biggest Koi Show in the Koi World. Getting one of my fish in the front winnes ponds is my goal. Than I am very proud. This is one of the most important Koi Show. Our goal in 2020 is to focus on high quality Nishikigoi. We have a new greenhouse with a drumfilter so I am looking forward to see the results. It is the first time that we use that, so I cant wait. It is really good for the Marujyu Koi Farm, its a new tool. So yes -I can do many
things now so I am looking forward. thank you very much It is time for the ceremony. The all
japan koi show takes several days of which sunday is dominated by the awards
ceremony. Not only Shige but also Donald will have to take to the stage to collect
their well-deserved prizes. Prizes are distributed one by one, with military
precision the ceremony has something special. A conclusion to a great event
but also the start of a new season Finally the winner mr. Pan and Shigeru
Mano can take the stage for the grand prize. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank everyone in this film for their cooperation, but
especially you as a loyal viewer of all of my videos. I appreciate your feedback
energy and passion for this hobby I would love it if you can share this
video and leave a comment. I hope that with this
documentary I can continue to subscribe this year there are some very special
things on the agenda that you definitely don't want to miss. Thanks for watching
and don't forget to like and comment and until the next.
