Breeders’ Interview Maruchiku Koi Farm, Kenji Konishi and Eiji Konishi (Fukuoka)
“Maruchiku Kohaku” Achieves Remarkable Progress in Kyushu. Attracting More Koi Enthusiasts from a Hobbyist’s Perspective (Part 2)
Maruchiku Koi Farm, located in Tajimaru, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, won the overall grand prize at the 32nd Kyushu Regional Comprehensive Koi Competition held in early December, making the name “Maruchiku Kohaku” renowned. Kenji Konishi has been fascinated by koi since childhood and was already a member of the Airin Kai koi club in elementary school, demonstrating his passion for koi.
For 41 years, he has aimed to create koi that are unmistakably “Maruchiku koi.” This determination has been faithfully inherited by his second-generation son, Eiji.
From hobbyist to producer
How to cultivate a parent koi
— Maruchiku has been established for 42 years. Did you start raising koi in your generation, Kenji-san?
Kenji: My father raised eels and edible black carp, and also managed a fishing pond. We started raising koi because an acquaintance brought some over, but my father wasn’t very interested in koi. I, however, really liked koi and joined the Koi Lovers Association when I was in the sixth grade.
— When did you officially start producing koi?
Kenji: I started producing koi after graduating from university. Before that, I was helping with eel farming, but the price of juvenile eels was rising, and I thought we would go bankrupt if things continued like that (laughs). At the time, I was also raising koi, so I gradually reduced eel farming and shifted my focus to koi.