Richard:
I consider it in my personal self-interest for everyone to believe that only koi imported from Japan are worth more than $100, that all the domestic stuff is destined to be crapagoi, and Mat & Brady & you and the rest only produce trash domestics.
You see, I now own 21 koi. There are 7 up in New Jersey. Of the 14 in my home pond, 2 were bred by Brady, one by Mat and one is a homebred pet. So, at the moment, a majority of my koi are domestics. I have no doubt that the very best koi are in Japan. For what fits my wallet, I can get better quality in domestics. There may not be as many to choose from, and it takes a bit more effort to find them, but once they are in my pond folks don't know the Nogami from the McCann unless I tell them... or, they are so knowledgeable that they see the difference of the Matsunosuke genetics.
I really like how it is right now. Equal quality domestics are less expensive and at the high end the bio-security is so carefully maintained that serious health concerns are not an issue... no risk of mixing fish in multiple hands in the delivery chain from farm to home pond. The more Kodama and other dealers in Japan-breds do to maintain the mystique of Japan having a monopoly on quality, the better for my bank account.
