The All Japan Koi Show

The national championship — its scale, its recent champions, and what winning it means.

The All Japan Koi Show (Zen Nippon Rin'yo Hinpyokai tradition, organised under the All Japan Nishikigoi Promotion Association with the hobby's major bodies) is the peak of the show calendar, held in Tokyo each January.

The 55th show, on 25–26 January 2025, drew 1,843 entries, and its Grand Champion was a Niigata-bred Showa Sanshoku. The 56th show, on 24–26 January 2026 at Tokyo Ryutsu Center, crowned a six-year-old, 100 cm Kohaku bred by Dainichi — and its owner, a Chinese hobbyist, became the first non-Japanese owner to take the title in consecutive years.

For visitors, the show is the fastest education in koi available anywhere: every variety in this guide, at its best, in one hall. Entry details, dates and rules change by year — confirm them on the organiser's official announcement.

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.