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TATEGOI AGAIN!
To those involved in the Koi hobby, however, it is the single most important word in Nishikigoi and translates roughly as ‘Koi which will become good’ or ‘Koi which will become better’. It is also a relatively ‘new’ word first used in the mid 1960’s by a few breeders of Niigata Nishikigoi. To fully appreciate the meaning of the word one must go back in time to the age before the word was invented, to times before the arrival of the first vinyl bags came onto the Nishikigoi scene. To further understand this let us go back to the very early 1960’s and try to understand the Nishikigoi business as it was then.
In the early 1960’s, Niigata was the only real area where Nishikigoi could be found in any real numbers although a few breeders were starting to produce some Koi in other areas but were nowhere near as prolific as the breeders of Niigata – Hiroshima; Nagoya; Shikoku; Saitama; Shizuoka and Isawa spring to mind here but way back in the early 1960’s Niigata was the only real area where an abundance of Nishikigoi could be found after the October harvests – very little culling was carried out in those times when only deformed Koi were discarded. In those days Niigata was very inaccessible to those traveling from other parts of Japan as there were none of the luxuries of Niigata today which is now served by Shinkansen (bullet trains) and a major freeway. Instead one had to drive by car winding upwards on narrow roads over great mountain ranges and a drive from Tokyo to Ojiya could take some eight hours to complete. Because of this inconvenience few Japanese Koi hobbyists visited the area themselves and instead bought their Nishikigoi from dealers who had made the pilgrimage to Niigata to purchase stocks for re-sale and returned them to their facilities in other parts of Japan. As to the dealers themselves, many originally visited Niigata just to purchase small, salted Carp fingerlings bred by the Niigata breeders as a delicacy for the table and it was only through seeing Nishikigoi being bred in the area decided that perhaps they could transport some back alive to their locality to see if they could be sold to local people with garden ponds to join their goldfish.
In these early times these carp dealers often found themselves hopelessly lost in the Yamakoshi mountains on many occasions – roads today are narrow and twisted, back then they were little more than mud tracks! It was common in those days for a dealer to regularly buy the total production of a particular farm on a yearly basis and the farm would not sell to another dealer until their regular dealer had visited them first. The carp dealers would stay overnight at the breeders house before loading the Koi the next morning to then make the long journey back to their homes in different areas of Japan. The Nishikigoi were then put on display and sold to the new generation of ‘Koi collectors’ who cared for them in their garden ponds. Transportation from Niigata to other areas of Japan was by a very early version of the zip-top oxygenated containers widely used today, these early containers were made from wood.
Again, back in those times there were many more Nishikigoi farms in Niigata than there are today but each was producing in very small numbers and there were very few large outlets that the carp dealers could buy from, most were small family businesses who were predominantly rice farmers supplementing their income with Nishikigoi. As to pricing back then, it was very simple and size alone was the determining factor, Nishikigoi were sold in volume by the breeders purely by size. Variety, sex, pattern and quality did not play any part in the final price – the larger the Koi, the more expensive it was. Common varieties at this time were Asagi, Shusui, Shiro Bekko; Yamatonishiki; Yamabuki Hariwake and Gin/Kin Matsuba although some breeders did breed Go-Sanke varieties. Many collectors had to have one of each variety in their garden ponds. It has to be remembered back then that the carp dealers were the only source of information to the Nishikigoi collectors, there were no books written on Nishikigoi; there were no magazines dedicated to Nishikigoi; there was no information on ponds and filtration; there was no printed information on parasites and medication and there were no Nishikigoi shows. Despite all of this the hobby of keeping Koi became more and more popular with the early Japanese Koi enthusiasts and by the mid 1960’s the first area Koi Clubs and Societies sprang up in many parts of Japan with avid enthusiasts determined to learn more about their new-found hobby.
It was not until 1969 when the first Nishikigoi show was held in Japan and by then several Japanese books on Nishikigoi had come onto the market. Even in those days it was possible to buy a small Koi for a modest sum of 500yen and grow it to reach Supreme Champion some years later – this was actually done by a collector buying a selection of small Kohaku at 500yen each ($2.50) and taking Supreme Champion award in the All-Japan show some years later. By the early 1970’s there was much more information available to Japanese Koi enthusiasts as more and more Koi clubs were to be found in many areas of Japan and specialist monthly magazines came onto the market. Personal learning experiences were passed from keeper to keeper and basic methods of keeping Koi were formed. Along with this new information and from personal experiences in keeping Koi slowly came the first ‘rules’ such as:-
- Female Koi produce the best body shape for a Koi show whereas male Koi do not.
- Pattern is very important for Koi shows.
- Quality of skin is very important for Koi shows.
- Kohaku, Sanke and Showa varieties are the only varieties that can take the major awards at major Koi shows as these are the most difficult to produce.
- Lesser varieties should be cheaper than Kohaku, Sanke and Showa varieties.
These basic ‘rules’ and many others began to filter back via the carp dealers to the Niigata breeders who had previously enjoyed selling their entire production for many years on size alone. The majority of smaller breeders who chose to ignore these new ‘rules’ eventually went out of business as they could not sell their entire production whilst the breeders who listened closely knew that it was time for a great change in the production of their stocks namely:-
- The importance of good bloodlines should be vital in their parent stocks.
- Very severe culling must take place where only the good patterns are retained.
- Nishikigoi will be priced on quality rather than size!
Many of the breeders who heeded the warnings have thrived and are still in business today, they have grown along with modern methods of breeding and culling – the work involved in producing high class Koi is significantly harder than it was in the early days but the financial rewards are far greater. This all revolves around the most important word in the Koi-keeping hobby – TATEGOI!
Every Nishikigoi breeder in Japan today produces his own tategoi each year, some produce only a handful whilst other large outlets produce more but out of a single spawning of superb parent stocks only a few make it to tategoi status out of the hundreds of thousands produced which is reflected in the very severe culling which takes place at regular intervals throughout the summer months. It is this very severe culling which continues to produce a few Koi each year that are better than any Koi produced in previous years and every breeder in Japan is looking to produce that one specimen that will become famous in the future. Competition today is fierce and it is only really the larger breeders who figure in breeding a Koi that takes Supreme Champion award at the All-Japan show held each year in Tokyo – Dainichi Koi Farm; Hiroji Sakai of Hiroshima and Toshio Sakai of the Isawa Nishikigoi Center have taken the most recent awards. It is true that the Koi breeders of Japan are all on different levels which may vary annually depending on Koi produced in any given year and some of the tategoi bred by one breeder may qualify to be ‘tateshita’ (Koi no longer tategoi) by another breeder who is producing a far higher class of tategoi.
Along with the stricter selection of parent stocks has followed the huge sizes attained by some champion Koi, in 1969 a Koi of 50cms was said to be a giant whilst today a Koi usually has to exceed 95cms to be considered as a contender for a major award. Today stocking rates in mud ponds are far less than they were many years ago and this also contributes to the growth rates we can witness today. It is not uncommon today to see Koi exceeding 50cms at only 18 months old.
Today it is impossible to buy a cheap Koi that will take a major award at an important Koi show as the competition is greater than it was in the past and tategoi do not come cheap. As to the tategoi themselves they come in all varieties and sizes and males figure in some size groups.
As already mentioned, genuine tategoi are few and far between and the word itself has been abused and overused by many and will continue to be so as long as there are gullible buyers who will hang on to the every word of the slick salesman. True tategoi can be small Koi with a promising pattern that needs a further two or three years to show its real potential whilst another one can be a 30” Yamabuki Ogon that has perfect body and fukurin, no wrinkles on the head, perfect unblemished fins and no tiny spots of red on the body. Generally speaking the breeder does not wish to sell his best tategoi as he wishes to develop them himself but he will sell if the price is acceptable to the buyer.
It is well to remember that prestigious Koi shows are very important to Nishikigoi breeders as far as awards go within classifications and size groups. If a breeder has produced a particularly exceptional tategoi Beni Kumonryu that has taken ‘Best Kawarimono in 55cms’ size group then that is a very important award as is the same for other prize winners in other classifications and sizes.
Generally speaking, in Japan today there are always cheap Koi available in their thousands which are bought in quantity by many overseas dealers for sale to Koi enthusiasts the world over – these are the Koi that the breeder wishes to sell. These are usually pretty Koi at a reasonable price and are usually well worth the price asked - however, be under no illusion, these are the breeder’s tateshita, his genuine tategoi would command a far higher price and most are destined for another summer in the mud pond! Once the breeder has sold and shipped his tateshita he can give far more indoor water space to his very valuable tategoi.
Some young Showa and Sanke tategoi can be very hard to understand, the breeder insists they are his tategoi yet it is very hard to imagine how they will develop as far as pattern is concerned and enormous changes will take place before they are ‘finished’ – other varieties are far less confusing to imagine finished potential. It is far easier to evaluate tategoi in 3years and four years sizes than it is to envisage what a one year tategoi will become. In general, genuine tategoi can be seen entering important Nishikigoi shows at some stage of their lifespan – these are very special Koi which have been singled out by their breeders at a very early stage of their life hopefully for future greatness.
In April each year the breeders of Yamakoshi make a final selection of tosai (Koi born last June) for the ones that will be released into their mud ponds in May, these are their best tosai tategoi and will be grown for the summer with low stocking rates and daily feeding. When they are harvested in October and checked for sex, the males are sold and the best of the females retained to be grown to three years old after one more summer in the mud pond – these are the breeder’s tategoi, the fruits of 18 months of hard work of spawning, culling, feeding and caring.
Even with today’s modern artificial spawning methods and the absolute importance of owning superb parent stocks it is far from easy for the Niigata breeders to produce high class Koi in quantity. It is relatively easy to produce Koi in quantity but very hard to produce special Koi which will realise awards in important shows – that is the eternal challenge of today’s Nishikigoi breeders. Furthermore it must be pointed out that it is the breeder who determines if one of his Koi is tategoi or not – on several occasions I have witnessed a Koi sold very cheaply by a breeder which has turned out to be absolutely superb a few years later so in some instances mistakes are made but this is rare.
Today I see many overseas Koi enthusiasts visiting Niigata to find special tategoi in Yamakoshi. Some are bought and kept with the breeder and grown for maybe a further one or two years whilst others are exported and grown by the new owner in his/her own system. There is great satisfaction in observing and taking photographs periodically to show how a special tategoi develops over the years.
Peter Waddington 19/01/08
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