Guides: Basics, Seeing Koi & Import Facts
What nishikigoi are, their history and symbolism, classification (13 groups and the JAS 21), size classes, prices explained, trip planning, buying in outline, import entry points, quarantine facts, getting-started principles, glossary and FAQ.
The full list sits in the frame below — it scrolls inside the frame so the rest of the page stays close.
Nishikigoi — brocade carp — are ornamental coloured carp bred in Japan, judged as swimming art rather than as ordinary pond fish.From Food Carp to Living Jewels — A Short History
Mutations in food carp in the snowy Niigata mountains became, over two centuries, Japan's most valuable ornamental fish.Swimming Jewels — Symbolism & Cultural Place
Why patterned carp carry meanings — longevity, perseverance and good fortune — far beyond the pond.How Koi Are Classified — 13 Groups & the JAS 21
Two frameworks, one system: the 13 major groups used by the hobby, and the 21 variety names standardised by JAS in 2022.Size Classes (Bu) & How Koi Grow
Shows sort fish by length classes called bu; growth itself depends on lineage, water and time — this page keeps the two apart.Why Some Koi Command Remarkable Prices
Bloodline, show results and export demand — the factual machinery behind headline prices, without investment advice.Planning a Koi Trip in Japan
How to combine Ojiya and Yamakoshi, a public facility, and a show-season visit into one workable journey.How Buying Japanese Koi From Overseas Usually Works
In outline and in principle: exporters and importers, quarantine, and why direct personal export is not the normal route.Import Rules — The Official Entry Points (US, UK/EU, Australia)
General conditions and where to confirm them, by destination — this page never decides your case.Quarantine & Disease — The System Facts (KHV & SVC)
What KHV and SVC are as regulated diseases, why notification and movement controls exist — without diagnosis or treatment.Getting Started — General Principles Only
Pond and water principles as published generalities — the honest boundary of a Japan-side encyclopedia.Koi Glossary
The working vocabulary of this guide — variety words, pattern words and show words in one place.Koi FAQ
Short answers to the questions this guide is actually asked — and honest pointers where the answer lives elsewhere.
Sources: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA — summary in our own words, credit only); All Japan Nishikigoi Promotion Association official; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and Finance Ministry trade statistics as published; Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) for nishikigoi variety names and definitions (2022); Niigata Prefecture, Ojiya City, Nagaoka City (Yamakoshi) and Nishikigoi no Sato official; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) visitor statistics; USDA APHIS and Australian DAFF official import guidance. Checked 6 November 2026.