Description
Koishi is written in an interview style by Mr. Kodama. Kodama personally visited each of these breeders in Niigata, Japan over a period of 20 years to gather this information.
The topics covered in each interview include:
- History of each Koi farm
- Breeder’s policies
- Breeders’ methods and practices
- Size of operations
- Best time to visit them
- The most important points to remember when you purchase their Koi
- Description of the breeders’ koi
This book is a must have for every Koi library. Read the reviews below to find out what readers are saying.
Upon request, Mr. Mamoru Kodama will sign your books before shipping.
REVIEWS
“This book is an indispensable addition for any serious koi keeper’s library. …The title ‘Koishi’ is spot on. Koi Teacher.”
– Bob Winkler, AKCA Certified Koi Judge
“Koi produced by the various farms are skillfully analyzed to better define what is unique about their characteristics.”
– Dick Benbow, 30 Year Koi Hobbyist
“I would highly recommend reading this book.”
– Mark Bodycott, USA Koi www.usakoi.com
drmike –
Great
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Great book giving insight on the various breeders in Japan.
JGMon$terVooDooKoiboT –
Know where you KOI comes from, bloodlines, and Niigata breeders! Great book!
Niigata & Kodama, what more do you need to know! If you haven’t heard of him then you must learn more. Hardback would of been better like his other books. Great info, insights, detailed, pictures, good amount of pages….just a great book. Recommended in your koi library. Met the Kodama’s several times and learned about nishikigoi.
White Elephant of Westchester’s REAL REVIEWS! –
Mr.Kodama is the “Yoda of Koi”…soak up everything you can get from him!
This is Mr. Kodama’s most recent book. It’s technically a large format paperback but it should come in a hard sleeve. The man is a living legend and the best breeders in Japan defer to him…shouldn’t the rest of us??? This book is a great look at all the famous Japanese Koi breeding farms (Koishi is Japanese for “Koi breeder”). Mr.Kodama interviews each breeder and you get some amazing inside into what they all look for when they breed, their goals for their farms and bloodlines and what they think is the perfect koi. You will learn a lot, but if you are looking for his more instructional books, you should seek out his other multivolume series…two are published and a third I believe is in the works. I have been like enough to meet and work with this man in person, but nobody will ever be able to truly learn all he could teach so take every opportunity to learn as much as you can…this is one of those opportunities!
The TRUST –
I highly recommend this book to anyone getting serious about koi. Especially good if you’ve already started to look at specific types of koi that you like. Kodama covers quite a number of Niigata farms that specialize in specific varieties. So it somewhat serves as a guide to know if the koi you’re getting is coming from a farm that breeds that specific type of variety. Only thing I don’t like about it is that I feel it should cover more farms and not just the Niigata area. I know Kodama focuses only on the Niigata area as all his business is through there but there are other big names in the koi industry that aren’t from Niigata like Sakai and Omosako. But despite that I would highly recommend this book.
Blaine –
One of the best Koi Books for the aspiring koi keeper
I highly recommend this book for any serious Koi keeper or anyone interested in appreciating what koi breeding is all about. Kodama interviews most of the major koi breeders in Japan to understand what is special about their koi breeds, their breeding philosophy, farm size and annual export. In addition, Kodama provides many colorful photographs of various breeds and explains what is important about each koi. He also provides many explanations on how to choose koi from various breeders.
This book will give anyone a new found appreciation for koi and what’s involved in breeding them and why people pay so much to keep them in their ponds or show them in Koi shows.
Kodama Koi Farm was created to help breeders in Japan raise their fish to large sizes after the devastating earthquake in Niigata shut down most of the breeders in 2004. Breeders focused on breeding and Kodama focused on raising them to larger sizes and providing a US market during a time of crisis. Kodama remains one of the leading world experts on Koi.