Joining the Nishikigoi Industry Changed My Life
I Want to Energize the Domestic Market Too

― You probably didn’t even know the Nishikigoi world existed before. Now that fate has brought you into this industry, how do you find it?
Uemori: I came in from the ordinary person’s side, so even now I think it’s an amazing industry. When I first met the chairman, he was talking about having bought koi and how they cost millions of yen, and I thought, “What is this man talking about?” (laughs)
― To ordinary people, it is a world that’s a little hard to understand (laughs).
Uemori: The koi, of course, but the people are interesting too. It’s quite a unique industry, isn’t it? I get to meet people I’d never normally have any connection with, so I’m really enjoying it now.
― It’s true, there are relationships here that you’d rarely build in other industries.
Uemori: Mr. Herbert Fritch, you know, also owns an NHL ice hockey team. When I went to the US, I got to go see one of their games.
― The NHL is the pinnacle of ice hockey.
Uemori: Exactly. It’s the stage of dreams.
― And that’s also because you entered the koi world. Would you say it changed your life?
Uemori: I really think so. If ice hockey were a more major sport in Japan, I think I would have gone that way. But even if I’d turned pro, my annual salary would probably have been something like 2 or 3 million yen, and I didn’t want that.
― When you joined Sankyo Consultant, did you put ice hockey behind you for good?
Uemori: Yes.
― So you don’t play any sports at all now?
Uemori: No, actually I started playing ice hockey again last fall—for the Niigata Prefecture team at the National Sports Festival. An old acquaintance asked me to join.
― Wow, that’s impressive.
Uemori: It overlaps with the koi season, so I can’t go every time, but I played in the National Sports Festival qualifiers last December.
― Among your teammates, is your track record near the top?
Uemori: I think so. I’ve been a regular starter ever since my first year of high school, and at Chuo University I was named Rookie of the Year in my first year.
― And somehow you became a koi dealer (laughs). Looking back now, are you glad you chose this path?
Uemori: I think it was a really good choice.
― Counting from your Sankyo Consultant days, how many years have you been involved with koi?
Uemori: Since I graduated from university at 22, so six years—this is my seventh year. From the very beginning, the chairman kept asking me, “What do you want to do?” and I kept telling him I didn’t want an ordinary job. Then, while I was still deciding whether to go pro, he said, “For now, come and learn at our company.” And following on from that, I think I’m doing a fairly decent job now.
― Along with your own hard work, various encounters and circumstances have helped you achieve significant results in a short time, and things seem to be going smoothly.
Uemori: I think the biggest thing was being able to connect with the people in Aichi at the very beginning. I owe it all to everyone, starting with Kintaro and Mr. Kondo. I don’t think many other jobs would let you have a friendship-like relationship with the top people in the industry.
― That’s true.

Uemori: The first time I met Ryuki was while I was at Mr. Kondo’s, when we went fishing for 12 hours somewhere like Fukui. I don’t really like fishing, and I don’t like being on boats either, but before we went, Mr. Kinjo told me something like, “You’d better make an impression, or you’re in trouble.” I think that boat was the first place I really talked with Ryuki. I kept casting for 12 hours, and at the very end I landed the biggest fish. We’ve been close ever since.
― What an interesting start. And your relationships grew from there.
Uemori: With overseas customers, too—if it weren’t for drinking parties, my network might not have grown this much.
― Even from the outside, it’s clear you know a lot of people.
Uemori: I’m just the athletic type who’s good at drinking parties (laughs). The sports world has that kind of thing too, but koi dealers are on a completely different level. Their energy is something else. So maybe that’s why it suits me. I’m blessed with the people around me, and everyone treats me so well—I’m really grateful.
― Please tell us about your vision for Koi Bokujo going forward.
Uemori: I want to win more prizes with koi I’ve found myself and raised properly. For that, I need to gain more knowledge, and I also want to build new ponds.
― So you have plans like that. Are the current facilities not enough?
Uemori: They’re not enough, and to begin with, these aren’t ponds I built myself.
― So you want ponds that are easier for you to use.
Uemori: I want more small ponds. I buy from lots of places, so I try to keep fish separated by breeder, but there aren’t enough ponds. Also, in Japan, fish ship one at a time, so that’s fine, but overseas orders are often shipped together, and sometimes the shipment isn’t until a month later. Then I have nowhere to keep them, and I can’t free up the pond until they ship… So I want ponds with rows of small tanks lined up—I think that’s the easiest setup for a distributor. This indoor pond was originally built for a breeder.
― I see. Is that a realistic goal for you?
Uemori: Yes. There’s some vacant land that I think would be good. Also, Koi Bokujo isn’t incorporated yet, so it might be a good idea to incorporate when I build the new indoor pond. But I don’t understand anything about money or taxes. When I filed my tax return recently, my tax accountant really scolded me, saying, “You’re seriously not going to make the deadline!” (laughs)
― (Laughs) I’m sure people will come along to teach you.
Uemori: Also, I want to energize the Japanese market more. The WNC Japan Koi Cup this time came out of a conversation when Mr. Kinjo, Ryuki, Kentaro (Mr. Kentaro Sakai) and I were having dinner together. To make a living, I inevitably end up focusing on overseas, overseas… but I really do want to liven up the domestic market.
― In terms of contributing domestically, I think your participation in the Tohoku and Hokkaido shows means a lot, and we have high hopes for your role in the Tohoku-Hokkaido District. The level of the Tohoku show has risen, and some dealers are working harder, inspired by your success. I think it’s a good trend.
Uemori: In Tohoku, I’m aiming for everything—the Grand Champion and every division—at both the fall general show and the spring Young Koi Show. I bring a full lineup for that, but winning everything is really hard, and I haven’t achieved it yet.
― For that, you’ll need to find even better koi. With a network as wide as yours, we have high expectations. Please keep supplying good koi both overseas and in Japan, and help energize the Nishikigoi industry!