The traditional culture center of Nishikigoi and bullfighting

11/10/2021

the history of bullfighting in Nijumura （part2）
In those days, the production of Nishikigoi was too favorable in that area, that's why they were able to keep these animals.
For a while,these bullfights were recognized as a brave and bizarre culture in Nijjumura because 500 bulls had had battles through 3 days in their heyday.

06/10/2021

the history of bullfighting in Nijumura （part1）

The root of bullfighting is very old, it was said that it was born in China.
Before the Edo era, that culture was brought to Japan and held anywhere in Japan.
Although its popularity had decreased in the Edo era,still lots of fights were conducted as a traditional regional culture in Nijumura because people who lived there were so rich that they could keep expensive cattle.

27/09/2021

The Bull used to be one of the status symbols in Nijumura（part2）

As I described above,cattles were precious so the master fed them well and treated them carefully, for example, putting pomade on their hair.
Because of such special treatment,bulls fought as hard as they could for their masters.So bullfights in Nijumura were not just battles, they were ways to express the tightness of bond between a bull and a master.
Bulls were ranked in order from Yokozuna,Ozeki,Maegashira,,,based on their strength like sumo wrestlers.
Yokozuna entry arena with Omozuna(the thick rope) in front of its body like the Yokozuna of Sumo,.
In short,holding Yokozuna also meant the position of this region and rank.

22/09/2021

The Bull used to be one of the status symbols in Nijumura(part1)

Few people in Nijumura can afford to have bulls because it took many times and effort to keep them,such as feeding,manure treatment and so on.
In addition to that,they need a lot of money to keep.
There were just two families which had bulls in Nakayama district where I was born.
On the other hand,in Higashiyama district,near Ojiya region,3,000 people lived there but only under 100 bulls exist.
Having a bull showed how rich they were and moreover, keeping Yokozuna means their fame and status symbol.

15/09/2021

The root of Nishikigoi2

Another factor in the birth of Nishikigoi is the law of recessive inheritance concerning the color of carps.
Kyoko Iwasaki's book, "Koi no iru mura ,"contains an explanation of this.
Originally, there was a bright red variety of koi called "Higoi(scarlet koi)", which was characterized by a recessive red pigment.
"Higoi",the bright red colored carp is rarely born from "Magoi(black carp)"
A pure white carp with no pigment is also born by One in tens of thousands.
About five hundred years ago, someone thought it would be interesting to have Kohaku(red and white) carp.
In Nijumura, if you cross a white albino with a higoi produced from an edible Magoi, a higoi will be born.
If you cross these species with each other,the next one will be produced in the ratio of 3 red to 1 white, and if you continue to cross these red and white,you will produce red and white speckled fish.
This event is described as the law of heredity.
From among the red and white speckled carps produced in this way, I select them to make patterns for beautiful Kohaku Nishikigoi and cross them.
This process was repeated for many generations to create Kohaku Nishikigoi through the process of fixing the types of color molds.
Specifically, cross-breeding is done by crossing one male with one female from among 200,000 to 300,000 that spawn once a year.
This very difficult process started 500 years ago and is still being done today, that is the reason why Nishikigoi were produced in this area and not in other areas.

10/09/2021

The root of Nishikigoi 1

It is said that the origin of Nishikigoi is a mutation of the edible carp. However, this is not a very convincing explanation.
If such beautiful Nishikigoi can be produced in a natural state without human intervention, it is assumed that they would be produced all over Japan.
Also,in China, carp have been cultivated as a food source since about the 6th century B.C., but Nishikigoi were never born.
Since this area was at the bottom of the sea 50,000 years ago, the land in Nijumura became rich in nutrients, creating an environment where the color of the carp could be clear.
This is thought to be the factor that Nishikigoi was born in Nijumura.
The reason why this traditional culture and industry has continued to this day is because people in this region have been breeding Nishikigoi for 500 years to produce beautiful carps for ages.

28/08/2021

The history of Nishikigoi

Nishikigoi is an ornamental fish that was born in Japan and makes the garden culture much more elegant.
Today, Nishikigoi of various patterns are produced,but it is said that the origin is the Kohaku(red and white) Nishikigoi,with its exquisitely balanced red patterns on a white background.
The Kohaku Nishikigoi was born in Nijimura during the Edo period (1603-1868), and became popular among the wealthy as an ornamental fish that fit in with the garden culture which is built by the citizens.After a while, the production for carps became an unique industry of the region.
Edible carp in Japan came from China before the Edo period,and they were cultivated as food in Nijumura same as other regions.

21/08/2021

The culture of Nishikigoi

Do you have any ideas about how Nishkigoi for admiration was born from ordinary carps which were bred to eat?

Not only in Japan,but also in China,carps were cultivated for food.

Of course in other regions,too,it is supposed to be thought there were carps in red or albino.
But Nishikigoi have never been born in any places but Nijumura.

I think the biggest difference between Nijumura and the others is plenty of love for carps.

People in Nijumura brought up Nishikigoi the same as loving their daughters because there is the culture,treating animals as precious things in this village.

In my opinion, ones having bright red were especially given plenty of love.

In this fabulous culture, villagers came to be eager to breed much more beautiful carps.

I’m addition to these facts,the love for Nishikigoi became an essential thing in this region through overcoming many difficult situations(e.g. The crop failure in Tenmei).

I wonder this much love and incredible effort made the carps such marvelous Nishikigoi.

12/08/2021

Mr. S***a Imai, a young painter, visited a Nishikigoi farmer in NIjumura.
He was impressed by the beauty of Nishikigoi and its history.

09/08/2021

09/08/2021

02/08/2021