How is it going, everybody? It is the blog How Unique Japan.
Let me ask you, what do you do if you want to take a break from a tight situation? Reading books or watching YouTube? In my country, there are many simple activities to get relaxed.
Instead of YouTube, watching the goldfish in a big pot is a popular activity from ancient times. They always make us fun with their beauty. Some of them have red and silver colors and patterns. The other should have just a simple block color.
So, this time, I would love to write about Japanese goldfish!
The history
The origin was born in China about 300AC(!!). The origin was from the mutation of carp turning to just red color. In 1502 AC, it came to Japan. So, it has been beloved for over 500 years.
Why did ancient Japanese love them? Because they are strong against different water conditions. It is easy to take care of.
As well as they can live longer than average fish. They would live for over ten years! From the world record, one goldfish had lived for 43 years in British!! The official document says it is from 1955 to 1999. These are the reasons.
One more fact.
In the Edo era, the breeding of goldfish became a hot business. Even some samurai took such a job as the second one. Thus, there are over 300 kinds of it (including inventions from other countries) now.
The cost of each kind varies depending on its beauty and uniqueness. Let’s take a look at some kinds.
Popular kind of goldfish in Japan
1. Wakin (red carp)
It is the origin of goldfish. From that, many kinds of species were born. They are tough against water pollution. They can live in muddy or dirty water.
They could even grow big. It could be 30 cm in adult age. So, it is the easiest one to take care of.
However, keeping that with the other species (different kinds of fish) in the same aquarium is no good idea because they swim quickly. That means they could often harm others with crashing accidents. If you plan to buy, you should consume another aquarium for separation from the delicate kinds. The price is between 1 dollar and 11 dollars. (Exchanged Japanese yen to US dollars). It is the cheapest.
2. Demekin (Popped eyes)
As you see, the feature of this kind is that eyes pop widely. When it is a baby, the eyes look normal. After three months, their eyes would be gradually wide open.
It is also a popular one and new. It came from China in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912 AC). The cost varies depending on its uniqueness (color pattern or form). That would be between 4 dollars and 22 dollars.
3. Ryuukin
It has a round stomach that makes it cute. Plus, the beautiful long tail is another feature. However, it is delicate against any water condition.
This means we would need to observe them, for example, water temperature. The cost is more expensive than any goldfish species. The price is between 3 dollars and 184 dollars(!) approximately. The gap in cost is due to its beauty.
Fun fact
Every summer season, there will be festivals in each area (prefecture) in Japan. You could see many simple stalls that sell various products. Foods, simple toys, and simple activities, for example, shooting toy guns at targets.
Among them, “Scooping goldfish” is a popular activity. It is the game of how many goldfish you could scoop up from the pool.
It is a delicate game. Because we can only use a circled thin paper like a spoon called Poi. It is the key. Such difficulty makes this game fun. You would need to concentrate on not tearing the paper in the water. It sounds technical, and it is.
To close
Thank you all for reading this article! I couldn’t say “THANKS” enough. If you are still interested in some Japanese Uniqueness, please take a look at my front page.
OK, now, SEE YOU FOR THE NEXT ARTICLE!!