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October, 2009
Dainichi wins the 2009 Niigata Nogyosai
Posted 31 Oct 2009 - 17:40 by Mark Gardner
Judging got underway shortly after 1pm, the 25 judges first task to select the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion.
13 votes were required to take the title in the first ballot.
5 Koi were to receive nominations in the first ballot. The Dainichi Kohaku below received 11.
The Isa Showa 8 votes
3 Koi received 2 votes each, the senior judges electing that this Marudo Kohaku would take the 3rd spot in the 2nd ballot.
The 2nd ballot saw the Isa Showa pick up 3 votes giving it 11, the Dainichi Kohaku picked up 1 vote giving it 12, but still no majority. The Marudo Kohaku was eliminated with just 2 votes still.
Where those 2 votes would go in the 3rd ballot would dictate which Koi was GC. One in fact went to each Koi meaning the Dainichi Kohaku took the GC title with 13 votes to 12.
A vote was then taken between the Isa Showa and the Marudo Kohaku for the Reserve Grand Champion prize, the Showa won by a landslide 23 to 2.
The warm weather today made the Koi incredibly active and the taking of pictures a nightmare as they tried to climb the sides of the vats. Hopefully it will cool overnight and they'll be a little slower come the morning.
Some contenders for the Nogyosai title
Posted 31 Oct 2009 - 11:26 by Mark Gardner
Well benching has finished (officially) although it seems pretty flexible!
To make a change the weather is glorious for the show, normally you can be sure of rain.
The Kazuto Kohaku I tipped has not come to the show for some reason. This was harvested at the same time - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/562 - and there was little to choose between them, this below slightly larger and better body perhaps. Ikarashi-san was one of the first to bench his Koi and seemed to have a real spring in his step this morning.
Isa Showa
Hoshikin Kohaku
Dainichi Kohaku
Dainichi Kohaku
Nogami Kohaku, not the one I thought he was bringing.
This is the Nogami Showa you can see here - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/567 - that Nogami-san hoped would maybe take best in size.
This Marudo Kohaku is simply sublime, I'm not 100% sure but I think probably in the same size as the Showa above.
Judging starts in 90 minutes, check back this evening for the results.
The 49th Niigata Nogyosai - let's get the show on the road
Posted 30 Oct 2009 - 20:21 by Mark Gardner
Having visited jumbo harvests at Ikarashi Kazuto, Torazo, Isa and Nogami over the past week or so, and seen some of the entrants to this weekend's show, I've gotta say I'm as excited as I've been about any show in Japan. Five years since the Chuetsu earthquake - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/563, many of the competitors for the GC prize would have been just 1 or 2 years old at the time.
It never ceases to amaze me that the get the show set up and put down in such amazingly short time and with such efficiency. As of 4pm this afternoon all vats were set up, having started this morning, filled with water and aeration running. The blue sheet with the rectangular frames is for the smaller bagged Koi during judging.
Takehisa Takahashi filling a vat
Likewise Manabu Yamasaki.
The showground will be decorated with flags depicting all of the previous 48 Nogyosai Grand Champions, the one below being the 14th.
I understand that this is also the official launch of the 'Visit Niigata' Koi flags - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/542
Judging starts at 1pm tomorrow, benching from 8.30am - 11am. I'll bring you more details of runners and riders as soon as I can.
Updated Mushigame Panorama
Posted 30 Oct 2009 - 19:53 by Mark Gardner
This image was actually taken on the 23rd of October, 1 week ago. The colours have become even more autumnal now as the temperature starts to drop rapidly.
You can see the last panoramic image taken on 10th September here http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/519
To download the full 6500 pixel wide version click the image below.
Another Isa jumbo harvest
Posted 28 Oct 2009 - 19:32 by Mark Gardner
Nogyosai fever is really hotting up around Niigata. Following the Ikarashi Kazuto harvest - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/562 - and the Torazo harvest - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/568, both of which contained likely candidates to visit the Niigata Nogyosai this weekend, yesterday Isa harvested some more jumbo Koi, Koi that were candidates for the show.
It was the first time I'd visited these particular Isa mud ponds set amongst the hills to the west of Ojiya. A fair sized pond home to less than 20 Koi.
Hajime Isa and Hide running, yes, running, up the bank with the first of the jumbo Koi.
Hajime Isa lifting one of the Koi onto the truck. It never ceases to amaze the ease that the breeders seem to complete this task with, lifting perhaps 15kg of slippery, moving animal.
Back at the Koi house Mitsunori took charge of the lifting of the Koi.
Which Koi will appear at the Nogyosai, keep watching over the weekend.
Torazo jumbo harvest
Posted 26 Oct 2009 - 23:01 by Mark Gardner
As you've have read a Torazo Kohaku won Grand Champion at the Ojiya Nogyosai Show yesterday - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/565
This Koi was one that was harvested just the day before. As we stood by the pond watching them glide around the shallow water effortlesly Tsuyoshi-san stated that this was the time when the Koi looked their very best, with just a little mud in the water.
The water level wasn't low enough to net the Koi individually with a pan net as is usual, as such a drag net was pulled through to move the Koi into a local area.
Mrs Kawakami splashing water on the surface to divert a Koi trying to escape.
Hiroi Seiji lifts the Kokugyo Sanke from the pond, as featured in Niigata Nishikigoi Digest.
2 more huge Kohaku lifted from the water.
Back at the house the Koi were first lifted from the truck, into the show pool and then a bowl where their eye sockets was washed with a fine jet of water to remove any particles of grit or sand.
The Grand Champion of the Ojiya Show is off loaded.
And the Kokugyo Sanke
The 2 Koi in their pond
A wonderful sight
Nogami sansai and yonsai harvest
Posted 26 Oct 2009 - 12:06 by Mark Gardner
On Friday we had invites to harvests at Isa and Marudo. Following our early start the previous day for the Kazuto harvest - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/562 - and a rather late night myself and Andrew decided a bit of a lie in was the order of the day but hoped we'd catch the Koi arriving back.
When we got to Isa everything had been unloaded already. We headed for Marudo who were starting their harvest a little later. When we got there we were told it would be another 30 minutes or so until they arrived back.
Nogami is just a short drive away on the other side of Route 17 so we decided to go there for a look. As we arrived they had also just arrived from a harvest of 3 and 4 year Koi and were starting unloading. I don't really need to add any commentary to the Koi, they speak for themselves.
This particular Showa, excuse the poor picture, was absolutely stunning and spot on 75cm at 4 years old. Nogami-san turned to me and joked, 'Mark-san, so-so Koi, what do you think?' I joked back, 'yeah, so-so'. This Koi will be going to the Nogyosai and Nogami-san stated, 'maybe best in size'. In just 5 days time we'll see.
I am attending a harvest of Nogami-sans best Koi later in the week, can't wait!!
Nogami takes the Nagaoka Nogyosai Grand Champion Prize
Posted 25 Oct 2009 - 18:24 by Mark Gardner
We arrived at the Nagaoka Show, which was much larger than the Ojiya Show, just before judging was due to start. Quickly going around the vats my money was on an Ikarashi Kazuto Showa that we'd seen harvested early in the week - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/562
Whilst judging takes place there is little to do to be honest, as such we headed back to the Ojiya Show to photograph the winners.
On arrival back at the show it transpired that the judges had awarded Grand Champion to a Nogami Kohaku, Reserve Grand Champion was a Marusho Sanke. The Showa took best in size.
Grand Champion
Reserve Grand Champion
Interestingly this year saw some new awards introduced for overseas visitors who entered Koi.
First prize in this category was awarded to Jim Vaden from the UK for this Oomo Showa.
All the winners will appear in Niigata Nishikigoi Digest Issue 3.
Torazo takes the Ojiya Nogyosai Grand Champion Prize
Posted 25 Oct 2009 - 17:42 by Mark Gardner
In previous years the Ojiya Nogyosai has taken place at the Nokyo Auction venue, passing last night there surprisingly seemed to be no work going on to put on a Koi show.
We headed out this morning assuming that the show was being set up in one day. As we headed through Urakawa Tsuyoshi-san and Ray Abell headed off from Torazo and followed us. Still no sign of a Koi show at the Nokyo Auction so we carried on up to Yamakoshi Branch Office where the Nagaoka Show was being held, as did Tsuyoshi-san. On arrival Ray advised that Tsuyoshi-san had received a call on route advising him that he'd taken the Grand Champion prize.
It transpired that the show was being held at one of the many JA sites in Ojiya, in fact just a few hundred yards from my apartment.
This Kohaku of 80cm+ was harvested just yesterday, more details of the harvest will follow.
Congratulations to Torazo
Details of all of the winners will be included in Issue 3 of Niigata Nishikigoi Digest.
A visit to Yagenji
Posted 24 Oct 2009 - 19:46 by Mark Gardner
I really do have so much to catch up on from over the last few days.
On Monday I received an invite to Yagenji's harvest of yonsai and gosai. I couldn't attend that as there was a harvest of nisai Showa at Shintaro that clashed, both of Andrew's Showa were due out of the mud that day, one of the main reasons for his visit.
After lunch we headed to Yagenji to see what had been brought in. There were some very nice Koi indeed. Daisuke and Toshinori Ishihara and lovely guys and they asked if I could take some pictures of their Koi for them. Of course, always no problem.
First up was this nisai Sanke. This Koi was a lesson in the value of looking at a Koi more closely in a bowl if ever there was one. In the pond it was easily ignored, in a bowl...very beautiful. Stunning skin quality.
Next up was this Kohaku, yonsai in the upper 60cms. The quality was obvious at a glance, although the shiroji perhaps a little yellow, this is often the case from the mud though.
This is the number 1 yonsai at Yagenji, 70cms. If anyone wants a lesson in the difference in shiroji and skin the the Koi above this one, and the one below it are excellent learning examples.
The Kohaku below looked superb in the pond, it looked excellent in the bowl. The only concern was the shiroji, it was a little yellow, certainly compared to the one above. I've since learned that it's been purchased by someone that harvested it. When they purchased it they didn't recognise it as a Koi they'd harvested, the skin had apparently changed that much.
I understand more 'older' Koi have been harvested since our visit. I'll be popping back over the weekend with interest.
