Teradomari Koi Farm

Mr. Kiichi Hoshino & Teradomari Koi Farm                           

Teradomari Koi Farm is owned and run by the esteemed Mr. Kiichi Hoshino.

Mr. Kiichi Hoshino got his start in Koi breeding in 1970 when he began working for Hoshikin Koi Farm, managing the mud ponds. Eventually he married the owner’s daughter.

He set up Teradomari Koi Farm after inheriting some mud ponds owned by his late father in law, Mr. Kinsaku Hoshino of Hoshikin Koi Farm.

After establishing his own farm, he set about breeding Kohaku of the Hoshikin Bloodline. It wouldn’t be until later that he established the “Teradomari Ginrin” that he has become so famous for.

After a close relative of his fell upon misfortune and lost all of his fry, Kiichi had an idea. As it was still spawning season, he quickly set about breeding a female Hoshikin Kohaku and a male Ginrin Kohaku.

He gave his relative 150,000 of the fry that resulted from this union, and kept back 50,000 for himself. The ones that he raised thrived and from this batch of fry came Kiichi’s first win of “Best in Variety” at the All Japan Koi Show.

With the spark of passion now kindled for Ginrin Koi, Kiichi set about establishing the Ginrin Bloodline that he is so well known for today.

Mr. Kiichi Hoshino decided that a truly special and valuable Koi was not one that was beautiful when it was young, but one that got more and more spectacular as it matured. In his eyes, a Koi can not be judged for its beauty before it is at least 7 or 8 years old.

Kiichi went to Suda Koi Farm and selected some Nisai Ginrin Kohaku from their mud ponds. He chose the ones with the weaker “Hi” and the somewhat duller Ginrin – against the advice of Mr. Atsushi Suda who proffered more traditionally beautiful Koi.

Kiichi reasoned that the ones that may look dull when they are young would, if certain standards were met, blossom into top quality Koi when they matured. The so called “Taikibansei” or “Late Bloomer” in English.

The qualities Kiichi looked for were a thick layer of Hi, good bone structure, and a thinner shape but with good body conformity.

After years of breeding and refining his technique, Mr. Kiichi Hoshino has become very successful at his craft, regularly producing winners of the “Best in Variety” category at Koi Shows.

Mature fish from this Bloodline exceed 80cm in length but retain a glorious shine on their Ginrin scales, which is unusual as Ginrin usually dulls with age and size.

The “Hi” on his fish is spectacularly vibrant and rich. It seems that Kiichi’s philosophy was correct, and his slow growing living jewels are the proof of the pudding.

These days, Teradomari Koi farm are applying the same techniques to their Ginrin Showa Bloodline, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see these fish mature into champions.

Mr. Kiichi will not sell any Koi that are under 2 years old, as this is the bare minimum age that he can begin to predict how they will turn out. This makes Koi from Teradomari Koi Farm very valuable, exclusive, and highly sought after the world over.

In fact, his Ginrin Tanchos might be considered diamond dust, as he only releases 25 – 30 for sale each season.

Teradomari Koi Farm specialises in Ginrin Kohaku and Ginrin Showa, with a healthy number of normal scaled Kohaku and Showa too.