Toshiyuki Sakai is Toshio Sakai’s elder brother. Toshio moved to Isawa when he was very young because he knew that his elder brother would get the house and business when their father passed it down, In Japan this is always the case.
Toshiyuki always used his father’s Matsunosuke bloodline, and himself changed it for the better to produce some of the best koi in the world, in the late 70’s and 80’s and early 90’s all you could see outside his facility was Mercedes, Rolls Royce’s...etc etc,
Hobbyists at the time including prominent breeders of today included Sakai Hiroshima, Momotaro...all trying to buy the best stocks from Toshiyuki, the business name being ‘Yamamatsu’ many people making the mistake of calling Yamamatsu Matsunosuke, which these days is frowned upon, Even though he uses Matsunosuke bloodline, he has tailored it to his own preferences, There are now massive differences between Yamamatsu koi and his brother Toshio’s koi. They are totally different. He alone is one of the worlds top breeders, anyone who has seen his best koi will know this.
Along with his son Toshiaki, The company over the last few years has blossomed, the change has also been huge since the Earthquake, there has been a total change in the koi produced at Yamamatsu, with bigger mudponds and more of them, with help from the Japanese government, he has more room and breeding more fish, the growth pattern has changed so much, now breeding 2 year old koi which are exceeding 60cms in size with excellent bodies, and quality which is second to none.
The main market in recent times from Yamamatsu is Asia on the whole, His best clients coming from Hong Kong, also a few of his best coming back to the UK.
Yamamatsu is one of the best koi breeders in the world, Many koi breeders change from year to year in quality, but with Yamamatsu you know when the koi are harvested, what you are about to see, he is so consistent in his breeding, the envy of many Niigata breeders.
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