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At 6pm on 23rd October 2004 the area of Yamakoshi in Japan was hit by the strongest earthquake in Japan since the disaster in Kobe in 1995. Yamakoshi is regarded as the birthplace of Nishikigoi and home to some of the world's foremost Nishikigoi breeders. At the time of writing this (18:00GMT 25/10) reports from the area are still sketchy. Initial indications are far from good and it appears that many breeders in the area may have lost everything, their homes, their businesses and generations of hard work and effort that they have put into developing the koi which hobbyists around the world enjoy. The purpose of the hastily created message book is to provide a place where hobbyists and professionals the world over can record messages for the breeders of Yamakoshi who have suffered from this disaster. View pictures of the devastation Longer term it is my intention that all messages left in this message book will be printed and, I hope, translated into Japanese to be presented to the breeders who have suffered. Please tell your fellow hobbyists about this message book in order that they too can visit and leave a message for the koi breeders of Yamakoshi. If you have a website please add a link to this page. Many thanks Mark Gardner |