Week 1 Discussion

Koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus)

Amur Carp

The amur carp is a freshwater fish in central and east Asia. The photo below shows its most common appearance, but some color variations occur naturally.

Chinese records mention natural color variations as early as the 4th century AD. At some point, amur carp were introduced to Japan. They are mentioned in the book Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) (720). Japanese began breeding amur carp for color early in the 19th century.

Koi

The many colorful variations that breeding amur carp produced led the Japanese to call them nishikigoi (literally: brocaded carp) or koi for short. Originally, other names were used, too, like irokoi (colored carp), hanakoi (floral carp), and moyokoi (patterned carp), but those names have gone out of use. Even nishikigoi is becoming much less used that simply koi.

Because of their beautiful colored patterns, koi are often seen occupying ponds in Japanese and other style gardens around the world.

Here in San Diego, they can be seen in Balboa Park's Japanese Friendship Garden and in a pond in front of the Botanical Building. (I'm not sure if they can be seen there while the building's renovation is underway.)

The variety of colors, patterns, and body structures achieved by koi breeding is considerable.

Each variation has a name. The chart below show some of them. There are more than 100 variations.

Barbels are sensory organs resembling small whiskers. They are muscle-controlled and have sensitive taste buds that help determine whether potential food is good or bad. 

Female koi spawn hundreds of thousands of eggs. Numbers like that are needed since the chances that baby koi in the wild can survive are very slim. Male koi fertilize eggs after they've been spawned.

Once fertilized, koi eggs develop rapidly. As early as 40 hours after fertilization, bodies can become visible. The black spots in the photo above appear in considerably less time. They are eyes. Eggs hatch in only 4 to 5 days after fertilization.

Koi go through a larval stage before becoming small fry; i.e., tiny fish.

Koi juveniles soon grow to nearly full size but don't become adults until they become able to reproduce when they are about 3 years old.

It is a common belief that koi and goldfish are different variations of amur carp. It isn't true. The Chinese bred goldfish from a different species of carp than koi. The two are closely enough related that they can interbreed, but their offspring are sterile. Koi (on the right) versus goldfish (on the left)

Averages don't tell the full story. Some koi varieties become gigantic. The largest koi recorded measures 4 feet in length and weights 90 pounds. This wild-caught koi weighs a mere 27 pounds. 

Japanese Culture

Japanese consider koi to be good luck symbols, representative of prosperity and good fortune. They also signify perseverance against opposition. Beginning in the Edo period (1603 - 1868), families began to erect koinobori (carp streamers) on poles as part of the Tango no Sekku (Boys' Day) annual celebration on May 5. The holiday has since been renamed to Children's Day. A carp streamer would be erected on the pole for each male child in the family. In recent years, an added carp representing the father has gone up, too.

The order of the streamers, top to bottom, is determined by the age of the male represented, oldest to youngest.

Some communities in Japan display koinobori on a mass scale on Children's Day.

Given the significance of koi in Japanese culture, it isn't surprising that Japanese artists have produced numerous paintings devoted to the subject.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

Hokusai is considered to be one of the greatest artists in the history of art worldwide. He specialized in ukiyo-e landscapes, but painted many other subjects on a variety of media. This fan-shaped composition of koi was printed in 1795.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865)

Kunisada was the most popular and most financially successful ukiyo-e artist of 19th century Japan. His most frequent subject was bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful people), but like Hokusai, Kunisada painted other subjects, too. The print below depicts a scene from the kabuki play Okuni Gozen by Tsuruya Namboku. It shows a fight between the character, Matahei, and Koi Tsukami (King of the Koi). Real water is used in performances, and some of the audience can get soaked.

Keisai Eisen (1790 – 1848)

In his youth, Eisen studied in the Kanō school of art. He became another highly regarded bijin-ga ukiyo-e artist and was known for representing women as more worldly than most other artists. He produced many surimono, high quality prints that were often privately commissioned. This koi print was produced in 1842.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 - 1861)

Kuniyoshi was a member of the Utagawa school of art that specialized in ukiyo-e artwork. It was so successful that about half of all surviving ukiyo-e was produced by artists of that school. Cats are among the many subjects that Kuniyoshi favored, like the humorous one below, Cat Threatening Koi, produced in the 1839 - 1842 time frame.

Mori Ippo (1798 - 1871)

Born in the Kyūshū village of Yoshida, Ippo studied under the artist Mori Tetsuzan in Ōsaka, married Tetsuzan's daughter, and eventually became the head of the Mori school of art. Around 1850, he painted fusuma for the Imperial palace in Kyōto. His works were especially popular among merchants. Though he left behind a distinguished body of work, he is little known today. Koi are among his best known subjects. This byōbu is an example.

Takeuchi Keishū (1861 - 1942)

Takeuchi never received formal art training but one day went to the studio if master Yoshitoshi (Taiso) Tsukioka and was kept by him as a student. In the 1990s, he began working as an illustrator. He also produced numerous prints depicting scenes of the Russo-Japanese war (1904/5). This 1908 print illustrates a koinobori.