Breeder info Feb 08 - Peter Waddington
(copyright Peter Waddington/Tategoi-koi Feb 2008)
Firstly, for those visiting this village for the first time, it is also sometimes spelled as Shiyodane, Shiyodani, Shiotani or Shyotani.
This outlet is as famous (or more famous?) than Maruhoshi (near Nagaoka) as leading breeders of Kohaku in Yamakoshi. Hoshikin is famous for very high class Kohaku and has bred them from his home in Shiyodani village for very many years.
The owner of the business is Hoshino Katzuyuki and has around 100,000 square metres of mud pond water to grow his Koi in.
His Kohaku are rated throughout Japan as being amongst the very best to buy – although some prefer other breeders’ Kohaku! He also produces some Showa and a few other varieties but his Kohaku are his real claim to world fame as the ‘maker’ of the ‘Hoshikin Kohaku’.
Are the Hoshikin Kohaku better than Dainichi Kohaku, Marudo Kohaku or Hasegawa Kohaku; the Nogami Kohaku or the Maruhoshi Kohaku? I will leave that to you to decide –because there is a big hole out there, and there are more questions than answers!
There are many high end breeders in and around Yamakoshi all trying to desperately to produce the best Kohaku in the world.
In the same small village, set high in the mountains, there are several other Koi breeders, so it is well worth a visit. Breeders such as Kurabe, Oyagi, Seki, Do No Mae and Kansuke –who also breeds excellent Kohaku.
I do know that Hoshikin markets his Kohaku much more aggressively than do many other breeders which promotes his name and his Koi to a larger market of Koi enthusiasts worldwide.
Hoshikin also has his Tategoi house in Ojiya next to the Dainichi and Marudo Koi houses. To see the Koi there, one must first make an advance appointment.
In my own experience and in my own opinion there are no single points on Hoshikin Kohaku that stand out from any other high quality Kohaku. For instance, if there were a pond full of Jumbo Kohaku with many different breeders it would be impossible for me -and many others- to pick out the Hoshikin Kohaku with any accuracy whereas it is very easy to pick out a single Matsunosuke Sanke from a pond of mixed Sanke!
Peter Waddington end
Other info (source Tategoi-Koi)
It looks easy to breed Koi. Simply getting and mating a pair from Niigata will produce Koi. It may be true. But it is not actually that simple to breed beautiful Nishikigoi. You may be able to breed beautiful Koi at that moment by using beautiful parents. But it does not mean that they can still be beautiful in future. It is very critical for breeders to have a clear vision of how they want their Koi to look like in 5 years and 10 years.
Hoshikin Kohaku won 6 grand champions at Koi shows of the last fall only. These great achievements make Japanese Koi hobbyists recognise Hoshikin Kohaku as equal brand to Dainichi Kohaku.
Hoshikin Kohaku today is the result of the clear vision of Mr. Kinsaku Hoshino, the founder. Fifty years ago, he believed that Kohaku must have 1) true red, 2) good Hi pattern and 3) no Shimi (small black dots). Setting these as major goals, he obtained 2 pairs of Kohaku parents of the "Tomoin" line and has been perfecting the line. Because of this, he can now produce beautiful artworks that everybody admires. Over 200 breeders in Niigata have their own clear idea of what their Koi should be like in 10 years and risk their lives to achieve these goals, including Kinsaku Hoshino.
Now let me explain in more detail about Hoshikin Kohaku.
Hoshikin Koi Farm used to be called Shiotani Koi Farm because it is located in the area called Shiotani; because his name was HOSHIno, KINsaku, everybody called him Mr. "Hoshikin." As a result, his Koi were called Hoshikin Kohaku and finally became a recognised bloodline.
About 50 years ago, there was Kohaku called "Tomoin" in Takezawa, Niigata. The bloodline of Tomoin dominated the market for the time because its Hi was truly blood red. Mr. Kiyoshi Miyazaki spent a large sum of money to get a pair of this Tomoin Kohaku. From his breeding, he produced two outstanding pairs of Kohaku.
In 1967, Mr. Kinsaku Hoshino spent large money at the annual gross sale to get the two pairs from Mr. Miyazaki. They were almost 70cm long (28 in") and considered very big at that time. With the four parents, there were four possible pairs. He decided upon one pair out of the four. That pair is what is called "Sanganmatsu," is the origin of Hoshikin Kohaku.
Descendants of this bloodline won grand champions two times at Nogyosai; Niigata Koi Show, All Japan Young Nishikigoi show, and more. Hoshikin Kohaku is now a representative bloodline of Kohaku.
Niigata breeds excellent quality Koi because all the 200 breeders have had clear visions of what kind of Koi they want to breed and improved their Koi to meet their goals just like Mr. Hoshino has done.
The goals of Hoshikin now are to create 1) strong Koi resistant to disease, 2) Koi that grows large and 3) Koi that holds their beauty at hobbyists' ponds.
Pursuing for these goals, he breeds 3 million fry with 10 pairs of Kohaku every year. He releases them into 2.5 acres mud ponds and culls them three times from July to October, choosing 15000 fry. From these, he keeps only 1000 Koi to raise to 2 years old and sell the rest. In other words, only 14000 Hoshikin Kohaku are available in a year. It is a very limited brand. Japan has many fans of the Hoshikin Kohaku, especially high end oriented hobbyists.
Because they are very limited and popular, you may want to reserve them up front.
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