Home - 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 recognised 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, however, 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 breeding. 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 |
For the lectures, I had to organise my ideas to make materials. I had to deepen my thoughts on Shiro Utsuri to prepare for some sharp questions. Then, I got much sharper questions. That forced me to study more on Shiro Utsuri to answer them. Then, before I 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.
This article was written by Mr Mamoru Kodama, Founder & Chairman of Miyoshiike Co., Ltd.
Reproduced by kind permission
