Breeder Interview　Omosako Koi Farm　Mr. Takayoshi Omosako (Hiroshima)

The Challenge of Creating the “New Omosako Shiroutsuri”
New Blood for Koi That Stand Alongside the Gosanke

“For Kohaku, it’s ○○ Koi Farm”; for Showa, for Goshiki… Each variety has its famous breeders, but is there any variety other than Shiroutsuri for which it would be no exaggeration to say that 100 people out of 100 would give the same answer?
Omosako Koi Farm’s brand image has been built on an overwhelming record at koi shows. It won Best in Varieties for Shiroutsuri at the All Japan Show 15 consecutive times, from the 41st to the 55th, and at the All Japan Young Koi Show it has won 21 consecutive times without a break since the 22nd, along with numerous higher honors such as the Sakura Grand Award and the Kokugyo Prize.
While continuing to defend his “absolute throne” in Shiroutsuri, Mr. Omosako has set his sights even higher. His goal is to create a Shiroutsuri that can compete on the same stage as the Gosanke and stand at the very top. “To do that, I can’t win by doing the same things I’ve always done,” he says. What is the challenge of raising his koi by one rank while continuing to deliver results? This is our first interview with him since 2010, to learn where Omosako Koi Farm stands today.

A Turning Point… Remaking the Omosako Utsuri
Introducing New Blood to Move Up a Rank

― Our last interview was in 2010, so I imagined things must have changed quite a bit since then, and I’ve come to visit after a long time. Shiroutsuri is of course what you’re known for, but what does your current production breakdown look like?
Omosako: Four varieties: Shiroutsuri, Ginrin Shiroutsuri, Showa and Kujaku. In terms of spawnings, last year it was eight of Shiroutsuri, four of Showa, two of Ginrin and one of Kujaku.
― Let me start with Shiroutsuri, of course. About 15 years ago, I believe your main parent koi were from the “Tatsuma Utsuri” line, such as “Godzilla,” “Panda” and “Musashi” (Kokugyo Prize, 85bu, 36th All Japan Show). How are things now?
Omosako: The blood is connected, and the line from “Zebra” and others still remains. In the Panda line, for example, they’d be about the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the koi we had 15 years ago. But right now I’m remaking a lot of things. Basically, I’m trying things like bringing in blood from varieties other than Shiroutsuri, through trial and error.
― Ah, recently people have been crossing Kohaku with Sanke, or Kohaku with Showa. Has that kind of effort started with Shiroutsuri too?
Omosako: Yes. Buying Shiroutsuri parents from somewhere else is basically impossible. Even if there were some, most would be offspring bred from our koi, so I have no choice but to make them myself. There are sets that preserve the blood of the original Shiroutsuri crossed with each other, and “challenge spawnings” that bring in blood from other varieties, and I’m running them at the same time. Otherwise the line would just keep narrowing.

― “Challenge spawnings” meaning combinations for creating new lines.
Omosako: That’s right.
― If you bring blood from another variety into Shiroutsuri, is it Showa after all?
Omosako: Basically Showa, but… Among those Showa, some have Kohaku blood, and some have Karashi blood.
― When crossing Showa with Shiroutsuri, do you sometimes deliberately use Showa with Kohaku blood?
Omosako: Of course. That’s for making Showa, and also for making Shiroutsuri. So in a sense, Shiroutsuri production and Showa production are connected.
― So Showa breeding sometimes feeds back into Shiroutsuri, and vice versa.
Omosako: Right. Of course I breed Showa as Showa, but while doing so I’m thinking about bringing certain blood into Shiroutsuri in the future.
― Adding Showa to Shiroutsuri probably also serves to separate the bloodlines, but is the aim the body or the Sumi?
Omosako: Body, first and foremost. For Sumi, I still want Shiroutsuri Sumi, and Shiroutsuri is better for skin and base quality too.
― Can you successfully take the best of both—a Showa body with Shiroutsuri Sumi and skin?
Omosako: It doesn’t work out (laughs). But even if it can’t be done in one generation, I believe it can be achieved in the second or third generation, through repeated failures.