Uragara/Urakawa, Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan · since 1917
Torazo Koi Farm
The house
Torazo Koi Farm, formally known as Torazo Urakawa Koi Farm and commonly called simply "Torazo," was founded in 1917 in Uragara (Urakawa), Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture — making it one of the oldest continuously operating nishikigoi farms in Japan. The farm is now run by its third-generation breeder, referred to in trade sources as Kawakami-san (also cited as the founder's great-grandson), who focuses production on the Gosanke varieties: Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa. Torazo is best known within the trade for its Kohaku and for its role in developing a distinctive Sanke bloodline valued for stable black (sumi) markings and vibrant red (beni); that Sanke bloodline is now used as breeding stock by numerous other Niigata growers. The farm emphasizes selective, lower-volume breeding aimed at elite show-quality characteristics rather than mass production.
Notable
- Developed a Sanke bloodline used as foundation breeding stock by multiple other Niigata koi farms
Torazo Koi Farm koi in stock at US dealers
All 5 → 
US dealers importing from Torazo Koi Farm
Children of the Sun Koi (Cots Koi)
UnclaimedLa Center, WA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ show
Children of the Sun Koi, doing business as Cots Koi, is a Washington State importer founded in 2004 that sources exclusively from named Japanese breeders including Dainichi, Ikarashi, Maruyama, Izumiya, and Torazo Koi Farms rather than breeding its own stock. It carries Gosanke varieties, Shiro Utsuri, and Ginrin koi across a wide price range, with a live-arrival guarantee that applies to air-cargo shipments but not to UPS shipments. It is included in this Northeast/Midwest research batch even though it is West Coast-based, per the assigned task scope. Note: it competes in the same national import-focused segment as some larger East and West Coast dealers.
- Kohaku Koi
- Sanke Koi
- Showa Koi
- Shiro Utsuri
- +1 more
Sources for this profile (3)
- https://torazokoifarm.com/ — founding year 1917, Gosanke specialization, location (accessed 2026-08-29)
- https://www.koibito-japan.com/breeders/torazo-urakawa/ — founding year, current third-generation operator, Gosanke focus, farm nickname (accessed 2026-08-29)
- https://www.kodamakoifarm.com/breeder/torazo-urakawa-koi-farm/ — location, Sanke bloodline reputation and influence on other breeders (accessed 2026-08-29)