http://koifreaks.com/forums/index.php?autocom=blog Community Blog List Syndication Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:40:27 -0600 vicrolfe@yahoo.co.uk (KoiFreaks.com Koi Forums) IP.Blog 60

Matsumoto-san measuring my Gir-rin Ohgon - Chagoi cross at 71cm
This photo must be at least three years old.
Until the other day, Matsumoto-san had not even heard from me for at least two years...
But now he tells me that all three of my prize koi are doing just fine!!



Several years ago, I bought some fine koi from Matsumoto-san of Rishou-en in Ishida, Kokura (in the Northern part of Kyushu, Japan...)

Since I live in the Philippines and I don't even have a garden to speak of, let alone any kind of koi pond, the idea was for Matsumoto-san to take care of the fish for me. It must be close to eight years ago that I bought my first koi from Rishou-en and Matsumoto-san has never charged me a single yen for keeping my koi in the indoor ponds at his premises in Ishida. The only thing I have ever paid for is the occasional, so-called "azukari-dai," (mud pond or growing-on pond charges) - and entry fees for showing the fish at various koi shows in Japan.

Anyway, although this arrangement seems a rather unorthodox way of keeping koi, it worked fine for the several years that I was regularly working aboard a cable ship that was based in the port of Kobe. I always enjoyed the Shinkansen, ("Bullet Train") ride from Kobe to Kokura, on my days-off when the ship was in port. And I seldom had to cough-up for an air fare from Manila to Fukuoka.

Well... sad to say, I have hardly been anywhere near Japan, (until just a few days ago,) for the last two or three years. One year passed to the next and I kept telling myself, "I really must get over to Japan - or at least telephone Matsumoto-san and find out how my koi are doing..." Well, eventually, to tell the truth, I had let it go so long without even so much as a phone call that I was beginning to think, "What's the point? Surely, Matsumoto-san will not still be keeping those fish for me after all those years, without even hearing a 'dicky-bird' from me?"

Finally, after about three years away from Japan, I just arrived in Nagasaki the other day. The ship that I am working aboard has a land-line telephone installed and it is free for crew-members to use for calls throughout Japan. So, I thought, "I really don't have any excuse not to call Matsumoto-san now. Let's just get it over with. I'll call him-up and see what gives." I was really expecting something along the lines of "Oh, I'm so sorry, Rolfe-san... It has been so long that I haven't even heard from you. The fish were taking up valuable space in my ponds and I had to sell them in order to cover my costs" - or other words to that effect...

You can immagine my surprise and utter joy when Matsumoto-san greeted me with a very cheerful "Rolfe-san!! Musashiburi des ne!!!!! " ("It's been a long time!")
He then whent on to tell me that my Taishou Sanke and my two Gin-rin koi - a Gin-rin Ohgon-Chagoi cross and a Gin-rin Goshiki-Showa cross - were all very big now and that they were also in very good and healthy condition!!!

Oh joy!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, the people of this country never cease to amaze me! Where else in the world would you get that kind of service and such an amazing level of trust? I mean, for all Matsumoto-san knew, I could have been dead for three years already?

...'Looks like a trip to Kyushu is now an absolute must for the spring of 2009.

Azukari-dai all round and a well earned "summer camp" for all three fish in 2009

Well done to those wonderful healthy babies of mine!

And a million thanks to Matsumoto-san for, well, EVERYTHING!!!

My eyes are getting a little wet now and my computer screen is blurred already...

The ship that I am working on will be sailing soon and there is no way that I will be able to make the trip up to Kokura before we leave Japan this time around...

Look out for an update some time in March, 2009]]> Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:09:00 -0600 I am still saving my pennies for a trip to Japan, to see my koi. Nothing much to write at the moment - this entry is more by way of a test, just to make sure that this blog thingie is working ok...

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Nishiki-goi have long been of great interest to me. When I was living in the UK, I had a rather nice koi pond that I built myself - with one or two particularly good specimens. My proudest koi ever was a beautiful gin-rin showa that I bought from How Kang, in Portsmouth. Anyway, since I moved out to the Philippines several years ago, my own personal koi-keeping has been put on hold and, since I am unlikely to ever own a house with a decent sized garden, it is likely to stay that way. anyway, this doesn't stop me completely...

Although, I don't keep koi myself, I do own one or two nice specimens, which Matsumoto-san of Rishouen Koi Dealer's in Kokura, Japan very kindly takes care of for me. When I can afford the "summer camp" fees, I do occasionally put the odd fish out to a doro-ike (so called "mud pond") for growing-on in the summer - and subsequent showing in the autumn.]]> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 02:30:00 -0600