Japanese Koi Fish

Koi appreciation is part and parcel of the hobby. Every Koi fish should be appreciated, even the ones that don't apparently deserve it. Every Koi is a miracle of good Koi keeping and every healthy happy Koi is in tribute to the abilities of the Koi keeper and if for NO OTHER reason it should be appreciated. Keeping Koi is HARD work and the more effort that Koi keepers go to in order to keep their Koi in tip top condition is not easy.

But Koi appreciation is an on-going complex mastery of a subject that is sublime, subject to change and largely subjective to a point. There are certain ground rules to Koi appreciation that cannot be contravened and these are reasonably easy to assimilate. And then you get a book like Kokugyo that points out the nitty gritty that really blows your mind.

Koi appreciation takes time. It is complex and challenging, which is why Koi hobbyists seem to enjoy it so much. As if keeping Koi wasn't hard enough...