CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Why don’t many people eat red carp?

You can eat it, but it just feels wrong psychologically! After all, red carp is an ornamental fish, and its red color is beyond the taste of normal people.

Koi were introduced to Japan from China, back in 200 BC, by a king. From then until the 17th century, some Yamakoshi rice farmers came to a small village in Shinyodo Prefecture on the northwest coast of Japan, introduced Koi and kept them in ponds and fed them rice.

The area is located in a high mountainous area with up to 6 meters of snow, making it difficult for outsiders to enter, especially in winter. This remoteness forced the residents of Yamakoshi to rely on the natural resources they had to survive, and they mainly engaged in koi breeding, and the Niigata area gradually became a koi breeding center.

Historical sources

The earliest record of koi is that when the eldest son of the great Chinese philosopher Confucius was born, the king gave him a koi, and Confucius named his son after the fish. Because koi is a symbol of strength in China, it is said that this is the only fish that can swim across the Yellow River waterfall.

The method of raising koi was introduced in a Chinese book in 533 BC. At that time, the colors of koi were limited to red and gray, and the purpose of raising koi was only for food, and it was never considered for ornamental purposes.