Origin of Koi
The breeding of common carp was already documented in Chinese writings of the 11. Century B. C. At that time for the first time the coloured carp were mentioned. Other sources mention as possible origin the Danube region, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea or Korea.
The coloured carps, mentioned in the chinese writings, must probably have been a random mutation of the river carp, not a targeted selective breeding.
The breeding of carps however has been mentioned for several times in fish farming books between the 7 Century B. C. and the 2. Century B. C. Here carps of various colors reportedly had been mentioned. Targeted and selective breeding did not begin before 1800.
Because of the bad nutritional situation in the Japanese Province Niigata, due to the geographical location and isolation, the farmers situated there, held carps to have additional food. Here the first colour mutations were noticed, which were limited on red, white and yellow. As it was difficult to access the province the colour carp was not popular and did not spread.
Under the leadership of the then Mayor, a group of interested people from the Prefecture of Niigata, founded the first Koi organization and induced, that 27 of the most beautiful animals were brought to the Taisho exhibition 1914/1915 in Tokyo. Here, the carp for the first time raised public awareness. The carp did not only win the second prize, but aroused the interest of the Crown Prince Hirohito, who got, not entirely selfless, seven Koi as a gift.
The exhibition and the interest of the Crown Prince can be seen as the major breakthrough in Koi breeding. Due to the great recession in the 20/30er years and the Second World War the spread of the carp around the world was diminished considerably. At the end of World War II the Koi market accelerated again. In Niigata the number of households dealing with Koi breeding increased dramatically. The number of farmers since that time increased steadily. Meanwhile, the Koi is the world's most popular pond fish.
Origin of Koi
