Koi-Hobbyist Interview　Masaru Ogawara (Niigata)

The Creation of a Nishikigoi Garden is in its 10th Year
A Garden and Pond that bring “Harmony”

Gosen City, Niigata Prefecture, lives up to its name (meaning “five springs”) by being blessed with abundant spring water. The majestic Suganagatake mountain, towering in the southeast, offers beautiful ridgelines that change with the seasons. In this scenic area, a passionate hobbyist has created an impressive garden and pond.

It has been ten years since he built his home, garden, and pond as one integrated space. With Suganagatake as a “borrowed landscape” and clear groundwater flowing continuously into the garden pond, there is a rich expanse of time named “Nagomi” (harmony), nurtured by Mr. Ogawara as he lives in close communion with water and greenery.

“Stones,” “Garden Trees,” and then “Nishikigoi”

Blessed by Gosen’s Quality Water

― This is such a magnificent garden, it’s hard to believe it’s a hobbyist. I can see the attention to detail. When was it created?

Ogawara： It was built together with the house around 2014, so about ten years ago. This is actually my family home. I started my own business at 25 and lived above the company office for a long time, so I was living separately from my parents. About ten years ago, I moved back to live with them, and we built the house, garden, and pond.

― Did your father already keep koi in a pond here or something?

Ogawara：My grandparents liked gardens, so there were plantings, but there was no pond.

― So, you decided to build a pond when you moved back to the family home. Were you keeping Koi before that?

Ogawara：No, I was completely new to it. I had been collecting stones for several years before building the house here. Most of the stones in the garden are river stones. An acquaintance decided to give up their garden, and since my company is in the transport business, we brought over more than 300 stones, large and small. I had studied stones, and I had studied garden trees, but I realized that the ultimate element was “Nishikigoi.” I gathered knowledge from various people and studied koi, learning how a pond should be built, and how the filter system should be—at first, I didn’t even know the different varieties.

― The pond reflects that accumulated knowledge. About how much water volume does it hold?

Ogawara：It holds about 50 tons, including the filter chamber. It’s about 1.8 meters at the deepest point and 80 centimeters at the shallowest, but I wish I had made it deeper. If I were to build it again, I would make it 3 meters deep. I think the koi will grow large because of the space, but considering the external environment, I think depth is necessary.