Taniguchi Koi Farm in Fukuyama, Hiroshima is a first-generation farm run by Yoichi Taniguchi, and it is the farm behind the Golden Corn. ChampKoi imports koi from Taniguchi. Buy here for Kohaku and Sanke with unusually good body, and for Golden Corn if you want one from the man who created the variety.
Taniguchi learned the trade at Oishi Koi Farm before going out on his own, and he built his parent stock from Momotaro, Sakai, Dainichi and Matsue lines rather than from a family bloodline. The southern climate gives him a longer growing season than Niigata, and body is what his Gosanke are known for. A Taniguchi fish took the Kokugyo prize in 46 bu at the 2009 Wakagoi Show, early in the farm's life.
Golden Corn is his own creation, developed over about ten years by crossing Chagoi and Karashigoi lines with Asagi. What you get is a Ginrin fish on a yellow or white base with red or yellow kanoko spotting, on a Chagoi-type body that grows. Taniguchi created and named it, and the line started here.
Be clear about what you are buying with a Golden Corn: a fish that will change. The pattern you see at tosai is not the pattern you will have at sansai, and that is the appeal for people who like to watch a koi develop. If you want a finished look on day one, buy his Kohaku instead.
