Orange and white koi in blue-green pond. Koko-en is a Japanese style garden opened in 1992 on the former site of of the feudal lord's west residence (Nishi-Oyashiki) in Himeji, Japan. Kokoen has nine separate, walled gardens designed in various styles of the Edo Period (and used for movie-sets), including: a pond with a waterfall in the garden of the lord's residence; a tea ceremony garden and house; pine tree garden; bamboo garden; and flower garden. Ornamental Koi (nishikigoi, "brocaded carp") were selectively bred from domesticated common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Japan starting in the 1820s. If allowed to breed freely, the koi subspecies will revert to original carp coloration within a few generations. Native to Central Europe and Asia, carp were first bred for color mutations in China more than a thousand years ago, where selective breeding of the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) eventually developed goldfish (Carassius auratus), which is a species distinct from common carp and koi.
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