The translation of the name Hikarimono can be broken up into two words; Hikari, meaning
"shining" in Japanese, and mono, meaning "ones".
The koi most commonly associated with this group are
Ogon (formerly spelled Ohgon), but the classification also takes in metallic Matsuba.
In 1921, a Magoi
with a gold-
striped back was caught from a river in Takezawa, Yamakoshi prefecture, by Sawata Aoki. Fascinated by this unusual carp, he and his son
Hideyoshi
embarked on a process of
selective breeding, keeping back only those fish that showed some golden scalation.
After four of five
generations, Aoki succeeded in producing the forerunners of the Ogon -
Ginbo and Kinbo, along with Kin Kabuto and Gin Kabuto. The latter
had silver edges to
their dark scales and a characteristic helmet-shaped head marking, rather like that found on
today's ghost koi. All
four types are still thrown in spawnings today, but
are considered valueless. Aoki spawned the first true Ogon in 1946, the result of a union
between a female
Shiro Muji and eight males from his 25-year breeding
program.
If your pond's surface is frozen over, Do Not break the ice, doing so could harm your fish. Instead, use warm water to melt a hole in the ice or use a pond Deicers to keep a hole open.
