S Legend — the koi that became a legend

In the tight-knit, obsessive world of Nishikigoi (koi) collectors, a single fish can become a symbol — of pedigree, of skillful breeding, and of how far someone will go for a perfect pattern. S Legend (often written “S-Legend”) is one such fish: a Kōhaku (red-and-white) koi that set the record for the highest publicly reported price ever paid for a single koi, and whose short time in the spotlight added a mournful coda when it later died.

S Legend was bred by the Sakai Fish Farm family in Hiroshima, Japan — one of the most respected names in high-end koi breeding. The breeder most closely associated with S Legend is Kentaro Sakai, whose operation is known for producing show-quality specimens and refining bloodlines for decades. S Legend embodied the qualities collectors prize in a Kōhaku: an exceptionally clean, bright white body; vivid, well-defined red (hi) patterns; strong body shape and size; and overall balance and presence that made her stand out even among top-tier koi. 

The headline number attached to S Legend is $1.8 million (reported as roughly ¥203 million). That figure comes from the October 2018 auction at Sakai Fish Farm where, according to multiple reports and koi-community records, an intense bidding contest culminated in a Taiwanese collector — widely named in reports as Miss Yingying (Ying Ying) Chung — purchasing the fish for the record amount. The sale made international headlines because it pushed koi collecting from an eccentric hobby into the “million-dollar specimen” realm, and because it illustrated how collectors sometimes view top koi as both artworks and breeding investments. 

Kohaku Nisai - S Legend Bloodline

Why such a high price? For elite koi buyers the calculus isn’t only aesthetics. A female show-quality Kōhaku like S Legend can be extremely valuable for breeding: a single high-quality brood can produce many offspring, and even a small percentage of those that inherit elite patterns can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Size (S Legend was reported at about 39 inches / roughly 3'3"), flawless coloration, and lineage all multiply value. Plus, within the koi subculture intangible prestige matters — owning a named, record-setting koi confers status and can influence future sale prices of related fish or offspring. 

The end of S Legend’s life is handled in sources more circumspectly. Reports indicate the fish died in 2019, roughly a year after the high-profile sale. Precise details about the circumstances of the death are limited in public reporting; koi forums and coverage at the time discussed the loss with a mix of shock and sympathy, but no authoritative public medical report or verified single cause has been widely published. That lack of confirmed detail has left room for speculation online, but responsible accounts simply record that the record koi died in 2019 without an official, publicly released cause. 

S Legend’s story highlights a few broader truths about the koi world. First, the market for elite koi is small but intensely competitive; prices are driven by a mix of objective traits (pattern, color intensity, body conformation, bloodline) and subjective prestige. Second, owning top koi carries real responsibilities — for water quality, quarantine, veterinary care, and biosecurity — because even minor stressors can have outsized consequences for very valuable animals. Finally, the way S Legend was covered shows how niche stories can break into mainstream attention when dollar figures are eye-catching: after the sale, articles, videos, and social posts proliferated, some offering careful background and others amplifying the spectacle. 

For many in the koi community, S Legend will be remembered not only as the fish with an improbable price tag but as a reminder of the delicate intersection between art, animal husbandry, and commerce. The fish’s life — a fast arc from farm to record auction to an untimely death within a year — provoked conversations about how collectors and breeders balance the desire for perfection with the practicalities of care. Whether seen as an investment, a living artwork, or simply a beautiful creature, S Legend left a lasting mark on the modern mythology of koi.

Cheerio!