[SOUND] Shawn
these guys are beauties, and I'm stumped on the name right now.
I can't remember why don't you school me?
>> Yeah, sure, sure, sure.
Today today I have for you Ki Kokuryu, Ki Kokuryu
that's fun to say.
>> Yeah, it's it's gotta be up there on like the toughest koi names to pronounce for sure.
>> All right.
So tell us what Ki Kokuryu means.
>> There's gotta be something behind that, right?
>> Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure, sure.
It's, it doesn't mean a whole lot to us, but
the most important part to know is that last, the Ryu.
>> Yeah? >> R-Y-U.
Ki Kokuryu.
>> Yeah.
>> It means dragon.
So we got a dragon in your name, it's good to go.
>> Yeah, got to have it.
>> Yeah, all right. >> It's got the dragon in there.
>> But we like to call it like the metallic dragon.
>> Okay.
>> So that would be the common name for this, the metallic dragon.
>> Yeah, sort of, Ki Kokuryu is the common name.
[LAUGH].
>> All right, I was trying to make it easy.
>> Right, right, right.
[LAUGH] so, you know, we've been talking about these 180 year
old koi varieties, I though I would spice things up.
This fish is developed in the mid 90s.
1990s, not 1890s.
[LAUGH].
>> Oh, nice. Nice.
>> Oh.
This this fish was originally bred by a family, a really small koi breeding family.
But was made popular by very, like famous koi breeder called Aokison.
And Aoki really, really perfected and mastered this this style of fish.
As you can see, it's a metallic fish.
With orange and white pattern, right?
So actually like a white fish with orange >> Uh-huh
>> And then it has this just bizarro like
silver gun-metal grey color.
I don't even know how to describe that.
>> So dragon color >> Oh yeah, exactly.
>> Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And
>> Where did, where did it come from?
I mean, was this- >> Supposedly the original family that bred
this took a Kikusui.
>> Uh-huh.
>> Which is, you know, a red, a red and white metallic fish.
Bred it with a Kumonryu, which is one that we're gonna talk about later.
>> Oh, yeah, the dragon.
>> Cuz that's the dragon of nine clouds.
>> That's the real dragon.
>> That's the real dragon, yeah.
>> Okay.
>> And and made his fish from that.
And then he bred that with a Kin Showa.
Which is a metallic Showa.
>> That was not easy to do.
[LAUGH]. >> No, no and
then Aokison, who knows what he did.
But, he brought in some other blood lines that he had to sort of,
to make this fish happen.
And it's interesting that, that you bring that up because these breeders had to work
simultaneously together to create the exact same type of fish using
completely different bloodlines, so that, so that you're interbreeding-.
>> Too much. >> You know, mom and dad, over and
over again.
>> Right. >> Which will
cause health issues in the fish.
All right, so if you notice here, it's got this really cool, like, silver,
grey, gun-metal.
It's just an awesome, awesome color.
And, the crazy thing is, in the, in the winter time.
If we were to come visit these fish.
Right now, it's spring that gun-metal will probably be a solid black.
And, as we come into the summer months, they're gonna be more like this guy,
which is a, a more of a white skin.
>> And, look at this dorsal fin, it's insane.
>> It's freaking rad, right?
>> Oh, God.
So, how old is this bigger one?
Can you give us some age references for this guys?
>> Yeah. Sure. So, so this Ki Kokuryu is around five years old, and
this is a much older fish than we talked about.
Like, normally, when we talk about a five year old,
I have a big- >> A big beast.
>> Tub out there.
>> Yeah. >> And
that's part of, having a koi that's newly developed.
So we're talking the mid 90s, right?
>> Yeah.
>> We're still working on fundamentals like the color and the pattern and
making sure that is developing Ki Kokuryu.
Eventually down the line, we'll start working on making her a huge massive fish.
>> Okay, that is pretty interesting.
>> So, so yeah, so we have an older fish here.
This is a three year old and then we have a nice little two year old next to her.
>> Dude have we talked about it yet how the, you know,
the koi's journey in life is to become a dragon and swim, swim up the dragon gate?
I mean-. >> We have not talked about it yet.
>> You know, so that's really cool because that's kind of the myth and
legend behind koi.
>> Absolutely, the ascension.
>> And, this is kind of, well, why don't you touch on that a little bit?
>> Yeah, sure, sure, sure.
So, a lot of people get koi tattoos, right?
>> Uh-huh.
>> And they have no idea why they get that koi on a tattoo,
aside from it being like really cool looking, right?
>> Sure.
In Japanese lure the koi or
carp is represented as something that's, sort of, sort of weak and fragile but
strong and bull-headed, but koi love to fight rivers.
They love to swim upriver.
>> Mm-hm. >> For no reason. Right?
Like just, just because that's,
that's what their head tells them to do, and so the story is you have this area where you
have these koi swimming up these beautiful waterfalls, right?
>> Yeah, it's a great story. >> And once they,
once they hit the top of the waterfall they transcend into a mythical beast, the dragon.
Which, of course, is the most rocking thing there is, right?
>> [LAUGH] Yes. >> A dragon.
>> Yeah.
>> And it's a story of human nature of us and
our frailty overcoming something as strong as a waterfall, and swimming up hill.
>> Mm-hm. >> And reaching to our extension of being a,
a man.
>> Yes, that's, that's the stuff, that's what it's all about right there
>> Absolutely, absolutely, and so
in this variety we're, we're the Ki Kokuryu where
where we're touching on that aspect of that transformation into a dragon.
>> Awesome.
Dude, let's go get a tattoo right now.
>> Yeah, let's do it. >> Let's go.
>> Yeah. >> All right, man.
Thanks so much.
>> Good to see you, man.
>> Today was a great koi discussion, we got to learn about the Ki Kokuryu and, and,
of course, the ryu means dragon.
And then we got to learn about the dragon gate, and that's the famous Japanese lore
where the koi swim up the waterfall and they turn into a dragon when they get to the top.
It talks a lot about human nature as well.
Until next time, I'm Eric Triplett, The Pond Digger.
Thanks for watching.