” Japanese hobbyists are well catered for by the Zen Nippon Airinkai, australian email database or ZNA, the world’s largest koi society, which is now accessible on the Internet. Many countries have local koi-keeping societies run by enthusiastic volunteers eager to pass on their knowledge to new-found members. There is plenty of reading matter for koi enthusiasts, with monthly. and quarterly magazines available throughout the world. The etymology of koi fish The words “koi” and “nishikigoi” come from the Japanese words 鯉 (carp), and 錦鯉 (brocaded carp), respectively. In Japanese, “koi” is a homophone for 恋, another word that means “affection” or “love”, so koi are symbols of love and friendship in Japan.
were originally called Irokoi (色鯉) meaning colored carp, Hanakoi (花鯉) meaning floral carp, and Moyōkoi (模様鯉) meaning patterned carp. There are various theories as to how these words came to be disused, in favor of Nishikigoi (錦鯉), which is used today. One theory holds that, during World War II, the words Irokoi and Hanakoi (which can have sexual meanings) were changed to Nishikigoi because they were not suitable for the social situation of war. Another theory is that Nisikigoi, which was the original name for the popular Taishō Sanshoku variety, gradually became the term used for all ornamental koi.