That same day I continued down from Tamuraya and walked past Izumiya then just continued walking towards Uragara.
It was a nice day and I had time on my hands, as I left the houses in the village I walked into open countryside and just kept going.
Further on, to my right I came to the Nokyo auction site which was quiet that day. Attached to the site are several long, outdoor concrete ponds and an indoor Koi house which I had also assumed to be a part of the Nokyo.
I decided to walk over and see if any Koi were to be found.
The outside ponds contained many nissai in several varieties but most were high quality Shusui and very high quality Kin Matsuba which, by then, were hard to find.
I walked inside the Koi house to find four large ponds and two smaller ones. There must have been some 40 or so large Kohaku which looked very special as well as some beautiful Kin Matsuba up to 70cms.
I suppose that these should have been called ‘Orenji Kin Matsuba’ as opposed to the more common yellow ones that used to be widely produced.
As I was about to leave, a young guy came in and welcomed me. We both recognised each other and shook hands. His name was Hitoshi Mano.
Over the years I have bought some good Koi at this farm which, incidentally, has no business connections with the Nokyo other than it is right next to it.
To avoid confusion in Iwamagi where every breeder seems to have the surname Mano, most of the Yamakoshi breeders refer to this farm as ‘Tomezo’.
My first impressions – ‘yet another excellent breeder for my diary’.
