— In general, does crossing Karashi koi tend to produce yellow-patterned koi?

Toshinobu: Not many come out as pure yellow. It’s more of an orange colour, like vermilion paint. It has a slightly muted salmon pink tone, as if white or grey is layered over beni. I’ve been crossing Karashi koi with various other koi for some time, but it mostly resulted in those colours. A vibrant lemon-yellow colour was hard to achieve. However, Konishi’s Karashi koi showed good colour from the first generation. The patterns weren’t as sharply defined as the direct offspring of the Karashi koi, but they had the beautiful yellow colour I had hoped for. Additionally, only the males developed red eyes.

— Oh, does red eyes have something to do with it?

Toshinobu: When I cross Wagoi Karashi or Doitsu Karashi, both males and females tend to develop red eyes. However, when I cross them with Kohaku or Ginrin Kohaku, the males develop red eyes, but the females do not. The females developed a rich, deep yellow, but on the flip side, they were more pigmented, making it more likely for red spots to appear. However, none of the siblings had that issue. It was interesting, so I decided to cross them with Ginrin Goshiki.　

— How many did you keep at that time?

Toshinobu: I released 180,000 fry into two mud ponds and raised them, so after including Mujimono, I kept about 500 to 600. I was strict about selecting Mujimono, and for the patterned ones, even if they were a bit lacking, I kept those with elements of Goshiki, such as good kiwa, colour, or body shape. These weren’t necessarily the best koi from koi shows perspective, but they showed good potential as koi. About one-fifth were Mujimono, and the rest had patterns.

— How was the overall ratio?

Toshinobu: Naturally, the ratio wasn’t as good as when breeding pure patterned koi with each other, but given the unusual combinations I used, it turned out surprisingly well (laughs). By last spring, there were around 80 to 90 left after selling the intermediate-grade koi. From those, I kept about 50 to 60 as tategoi, including those with yellow or orange patterns and Mujimono.

— How was the initial reaction from customers?

Toshinobu: Customers won’t buy them unless they’re really into something unusual. They’d be like, “What is this?” (laughs). Even Southeast Asian customers who come to buy every year made bitter faces when I showed them these upon their request for recommendations. But I told them, “Just take them!” (laughs).

— By the way, why was the name “Tamausagi” given?

Toshinobu: “Tamausagi” is read as “Gyokuto” and refers to the rabbit living on the moon in Chinese legend. The name was inspired by the image of a bright yellow moon floating in the dark sky. It has yellow patterns on a Goshiki-like blue background, so I named it “Tamausagi.”

Patterns of lemon yellow on Goshiki

with a different lineage.

— I’ve heard that the yellow colour in koi isn’t stable. Does the yellow derived from Karashi koi have any specific characteristics?　

Toshinobu: Karashi koi isn’t just a solid mustard colour; the body, like Soragoi, is covered in yellow pigments like lemon yellow. It gives them the appearance of a mustard colour. When crossing with other koi, the colour sometimes becomes reversed or dirty, like being covered in soot. Similarly, when crossing Goshiki and Kohaku, a pure black koi sometimes appears, as the underlying body traits inevitably influence the colour, covering it up.　

— It’s what is commonly referred to as “spoiling the beni.”

Toshinobu: This tendency became stronger when working with Karashi koi, so I kept only those from the first batch that didn’t get spoiled. 

— The general image of Goshiki is black and red, but what about Tamausagi?

Toshinobu: The Ginrin Goshiki male from Hiroi that I used isn’t a solid black Goshiki. It has an Asagi colour or greyish skin tone accentuating the red, so I believe its traits will likely turn out that way. Since it’s derived from Karashi koi, appearing it with the colour of Asagi’s beautiful navy-blue body traits is challenging. It tends to lean towards a greyish tone when trying to do so. As the final form of Tamausagi, I think it would be interesting to have two types: one with a Goshiki base and yellow overlay, like the ones from Kanno (Kanno Koi Farm, Nagaoka) and Hiroi, and another with a black-based body, similar to Kuro Goshiki, that enhances the yellow. These two types would allow me to use them as either males or females for breeding. Additionally, I could crossbreed them with the Konishi bloodline from the first generation, making it possible to create pairings between closely related lines.

— Developing two distinct lineages from the start would make future improvements easier.Are the pairings with Kuro Goshiki progressing well?

Toshinobu:Ⅰonly started working with Kuro Goshiki last year, so I only have tosai now, making it difficult to evaluate the results. Last year, I obtained Kuro Goshiki from Aoki (AO Aokiya, Ojiya) and Iwashita (Iwashita Koi Farm, Nagaoka). We then crossbred them with siblings of the parent koi I used the previous year. Additionally, I paired the first-generation parent from two years ago with a Kuro Goshiki from Kawakami (Kawakami Koi Farm, Ojiya).

— So, you used three different types of male Kuro Goshiki?

Toshinobu: Kawakami’s Goshiki had an intense black colour in the past, but recently, while maintaining a black tone, they’ve started to show more defined edging. The body structure, colours and patterns are fascinating, and I’ve seen koi in hobbyists’ ponds reaching around 85 cm. I believe these could grow even further. Since this is a different lineage from the one used two years ago, I now have three lineages. However, I believe there are still very few that have developed the beautiful Goshiki traits.

— Do Goshiki traits seem to emerge as they grow?

Toshinobu: Yes. They generally have a faint Goshiki base, so I believe the traits will eventually emerge. Previously, when I crossed Doitsu Karashi koi from Momotaro (Okayama Momotaro Koi, Okayama) with Kohaku, Shiromuji appeared. However, one koi didn’t show any soot, so I kept it as a Shiromuji. When it was five years old and overwintering, I saw its dorsal fin looked bluish, but within just two or three weeks, it transformed into a yellowish Asagi. So, the koi crossed with Goshiki will likely undergo sudden changes like that, and some may develop Goshiki traits as they grow, just like with regular Goshiki, where factors like water temperature or the growth process bring out Goshiki traits. I select and keep the ones that seem promising as I observe them.

(To be continued in the part 2.)