 Koi are descendants of the common
carp, Cyprinus Carpio. Originally native to Eastern Europe and Persia, Carp
were introduced to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and other areas of the
world as a commodity in trade or food.
According to "Manual to
Nishikigoi," a book by Dr. Takeo Kuroki, the word "Koi" was first
used about 2,500 years ago in China.
Confucius' son, born in
533 B.C., was presented a fish by King Shoko of Ro. The fish were used as the
main subject in Chinese artwork and carvings and some Chinese rulers kept carp in
captivity for their viewing pleasure.
While there may have been natural
mutations of carp which featured patches of color on them in China, the Japanese are
generally recognized as the creators of Nishikigoi (Living Jewels).
The Japanese were the first to take the naturally occurring mutations
and develop them further. Japanese rice farmers kept them as food fish but
somewhere between the 1820s and 1830s, they began to breed some of the carp for
aesthetic appeal.
The farmers kept the colorful carp as pets for
themselves. As the farmers developed different color types of Koi, interest in Koi
spread throughout the prefecture (similar to a state in the United States) and then
throughout Japan. National interest for Koi in Japan increased tremendously when
Emperor Hirohito was presented Koi for the Imperial Palace moat in
1914.
Most people involved in the hobby consider the Niigata prefecture in
Japan as the birthplace from which the Nishikigoi sprang. More specifically,
areas in and around Ojiya City in Niigata are regarded as the home of Nishikigoi.
Today there are more than 100 different color types and sub-types of
Koi.
 Wild carp were called "Koi" in Japan, but the term was also
used to describe colored carp. The name Nishikigoi was given to these "colored
Koi carp" during World War-II. Today colored carp are simply called Koi
and the term has evolved into the common name for them worldwide.
The term
Nishikigoi is used as a formal name. Nishikigoi is used to describe them in
written text or describing the fish formally to Japanese people who do not have
working knowledge of the fish.
Many people in Japan recognize the
term Nishikigoi but may not be familiar with the term Koi.
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