Koi Varieties:

The Kohaku

The Kohaku is the most highly cherished of the koi varieties; a good specimen will be very valuable and stands out in the pond. It is described as a two-colour, non-metallic koi with red (Hi) pattern on it's back. On a good specimen of Kohaku, the pattern should have clearly defined edges and the white should be a good unblemished colour, often described as 'snow' white. The contrast between the two colours.

	This Kohaku has a good, well-proportioned pattern on an excellent white ground. The well-placed head Hi and good body shape make it a fine koi.
	The body volume on this Nidan Kohaku is superb. The two patches are almost linked by the extended Hi on the right side. The white nose and caudal regions set this fish off wonderfully.
	A beautiful Matuten Kohaku with a snow white skin and beautiful pectoral fins. Good body shape and the excellent pectoral fins make this a koi that will really stand out in your pond.

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Sanke

Taish Sanshoku, or Sanke (meaning tri-colour) as it is commonly known, was so-named because it was first shown at the Taisho exhibition in 1915. The Sanke is a non-metallic fish with a double colour pattern-red (HI) and black-on a white base or body colour. Sumi found on the Sanke will be in small 'patches' placed in a balanced way along the length of the body, but not normally on the head. Although the two colours should be on a white base, it is possible for the black to overlay the red or white completely or possibly spread across both red and white. When black is on white (preferred) it is called Tsubo Sumi and when it overlays the red, Kasane Sumi. Ideally, a Sanke should have Tejima (three or four 'stripes' of Sumi) in the pectoral fins. These strips are sometimes found on the other fins, too.

	This Doitsu Sanke exhibits well- balanced Tsubo sumi on a snow- white base. Sharpness of the pattern edges is emphasized by the scaleless skin. Note the interesting head Hi on the white nose.
	An unusual head Hi pattern is set off by the Hi on the nose tip (Kuchibeni). The strong sumi patch on the left side of the nicely balances the Hi.

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Usturi-mono

The Utsuri is a two-colour koi, the base colour being black. The second colour can be white (Shiro), red (Hi) of yellow (Ki). As utsuri means 'reflections' in Japanese, the pattern will tend to alternate the black and the colour side-to-side and, as is usual in koi appreciation, the pattern should be well-balanced both side-to-side and along the length of a well-proportioned body. The head pattern (Menware) on Utsuri is similar to that of Showa; Sumi (black) as a diagonal stripe or 'V' shape is preferred. Sumi should wrap around the body to below the lateral line. Being a direct descendant of the Magoi, (the original Asian carp, Cyprinus carpio) means that the Usturi should have extremely deep black and when seen in conjunction with a good snowy white colouration, the Shiro Utsuri in indeed a very handsome fish to have swimming in the pond. Although the Hi Utsuri is ideally red, many are more orangey-red. The last of the Utsuri group is the Ki Utsuri. the yellow contrasting with black makes for an attractive koi, but unfortunately, it is rarely seen these days. Although it is an attractive fish, the Utsuri can suffer from 'staining', where the coloured pattern develops black spots. These marks and a poor kiwa or sashi (sharpness of edge of colour, black and front repectively0 can detract from real beauty of the koi.

	The well 'banded' Sumi is clear to see to see on this koi. The head is set off by the Sumi developing on the nose.
	This imposing Shiro Utsuri has very deep Sumi that contrasts well with the white skin. Good, clean pectoral fins with Motoguro finish this fish nicely.

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Bekko

The Bekko is described as a fish with a black pattern on a coloured base. the black (Sumi) appears as balanced patches along the back o the koi, above the lateral line but not on the head. As in the Utsuri, the Bekko occurs in the base colour variations Shiro (white) Bekko, Aka (red) Bekko and Ki (yellow) Bekko.

This young fish is developing a well-balanced Sumi pattern. It is important to have a good skin quality and clean head on a Bekko.

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Asagi/Shusui

The Asagi is one of the oldest recorded forms of Nishikigo and a descendant of the Asagi magoi. It has a blue and red flanks below the lateral line and red on the cheeks below the eyes. The blue scales are edged with white to give the appearance or a net. The head should be light blue to white, but very clear and with out blemish, while the base of the pectoral fins should also be coloured red. There are several sub varieties of Asagi, but they are basically colour depth variations. A light blue back is Mizu-Asagi, mid-blue is the Narumi-Asagi and the dark (almost black) colourations the Konjo-Asagi. but is has a name change as well; it becomes the Shusui. Once again, the Shusui should have a nice clean head and the white-edged blue scales along the dorsal line should be evenly sized and well placed. It is important that the dorsal scales in front of the dorsal fin should be well-balanced pairs of scales or single, central scales. Several sub varieties are found, such as the Hi-Shusui, where a line of red appears on the blue, along both sides of the body between the lateral and dorsal lines. The blue of both Asagi and Shusui may darken over time, in some cases becoming almost black and much less attractive.

	This is a Hi-Shusui. It has well-balanced scales in front of the dorsal fin. On a Shusui, dorsal scale alignment is important, as is a good clean head.
	The scale alignment and 'fish net' effect that they create are very important features of the Asagi. Hi on the cheeks and pectoral fins, clearly visible on this koi, make an interesting feature that sets off a clear head.
	A clear head and light blue scales are also important features of the Asagi.

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Koromo

This class is essentially made up from Kohaku, Sanke or Showa with a blackish or bluish overlay on the red pattern (from crossing with Asagi) that led to the class name Koromo (Japanese for 'robed').

 

This Maruten Sumi Goromo is the Koromo class; it is a classic two-step Kohaku with heavy Sumi overlay. This pattern is set on a good white ground that produces a striking effect.

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Kawarimono

The last of the non-metallic classes contains varieties of koi that do not fall into any of the earlier groups. Some of the more popular named varieties are Goshiki (five colours), Chagoi, Hajiro and Midorigioi.

	The Kumonryu (dragon fish) in the Kawarimono class has a black-and-white pattern that can change with the seasons.
	The Ochiba Shigure is a popular Kawarimono variety and found in many koi ponds. The name means 'autumn leaves falling onto water' and the lovely pattern on this fish depicts this perfectly.

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Ogon (Hikari Muji-mono)

There are several varieties of Ogon and they all fall into the class of Hikari Muji-mono. Hikari means metallic or shiny, muji means single colour and mono means 'ones' (i.e. fish). Because these fish are one colour, the emphasis is on conformation of body shape, quality of the metallic sheen (lustre), clarity of the head, and the even colouration and alignment of the scales. The fins are the same colour depth should be even across the fins. The traditional Ogon is gold, but there are several colour variations, the most common one being the Yamabuki (yellow) Ogon. Other colours include the Orenji (orange), Purachina (platinum) and Nezu (silver grey). Although normally a single colour metallic grouping, there is one deviation from that. When an Ogon has dark centres to its scales, it becomes known as a Matsuba Ogon. Matsuba scalation gives the impression of a pinecone. The Matsuba variants are Gin (silver) Matsuba and Kin (gold) matsuba, and the feature to appreciate here is the pinecone scalation. The dark scale centres should be evenly distributed over and along the top of the body and down below the lateral line.

	Lustrous metallic skin, very clear head, good scale alignment and well-proportioned, evenly coloured pectoral fins mark out this Yamabuki Ogon.
	The Purachina Ogon. In all Ogons, skin quality and clarity of the head are vital. Good scalation is one of the main points of interest on the fish.

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Hikari Moyo-mono

Hikari Moyo-mono is the class name for a metallic koi with two or more colours. Examples are Kujaku, Hariwake and Yamatonishiki.

The Kujaku is a two-colour metallic koi with Matsuba scalation. This fish has good body volume and a lovely clear head. Lustrous skin quality and scale alignment are vital in metallic fish.

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Hikari Utsuri-mono

This class contains the metallic Showa and Utsuri varieties, such as Kin Showa and Kin Ki Utsuri.

	Kin Showa is a metallic version of the Showa and a good-quality example is stunning when young. However, the red may develop into orange/brown with age. A fine Kin Showa should have a good Showa pattern and lustrous metallic skin.
	Kin Ki Utsuri is the metallic version of the Ki Utsuri. The intense Sumi set against the brilliant golden-yellow makes a quality Kin Ki Utsuri a wonderful sight. This is a sought after Koi variety, but rarely seen these days. Unfortunately many of these lovely fish can suffer from 'Staining', where black dots appear on the gold pattern. This fish is clear of any staining.

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KinGinRin

All the classes described above contain koi varieties that may exhibit distinctly shiny or sparkling, rather than metallic, scales. If they are in the Kohaku, Sanke and Showa classes, these koi fall into the KinGinRin class. Other varieties usually fall into their own class. KinGinRin scales come in many forms and the Japanese have a name for each one. Two examples are Pearl Stand out from the body almost three-dimensionally, like small pearls. the best of the 'flat' type known as BetaGinRin.

	This GinRin Ogon is judged against its peers in the Hikari Muj-mono class and must therefore comply with skin quality, body shape and other criteria. Quality GinRin scalation is an additional merit for the fish and a head clear of blemishes is extremely important.
	The body volume on this GinRin Kohaku is impressive. The GinRin quality over the over the body of the body of the fish is outstanding. The good three-step Kohaku pattern is set off by the large elegant pectoral fins. The head shape is ideal.

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Tancho

The name of this class is taken from tancho crane that has a single red spot on the top of its head. This is the last class of the 13 classes and contains varieties of the Kohaku, Sanke and Showa classes, where the only red on these fish is a well-placed circular spot on the head.

This Tancho Kohaku has a near-perfect round Hi spot, well placed between the eyes and set on a white skin. With its well-proportioned fins, this Tancho would stand out in any pond.

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Showa

Showa Sanshoku, or Showa as it is commonly known, was developed in the late 1920s by crossing aa Ki-Utsuri with a Kohaku. In the simplest terms, a Showa is non metallic but with red and white markings on a black base. Over the years, this variety has changed with fashion. the early Showa had large amounts of Sumi (black) and Hi (red), but only small amounts of white. today it is possible to find Showa with very little black but plenty of white; these have been named Kindai Showa. This may make it difficult to distinguish from a Sanke at first sight. However, the traditional Showa will always have Sumi on its head but a Sanke never will, and the Sumi on the Showa Wraps around the body (more in bands than in patches) and finishes below the lateral line. Sumi on the Sanke should always be above the lateral line. The Showa also has Sumi in the base of its pectoral fins, but it is solid not striped, and is known as Motoguro. Ideally, the sumi on the head of a Showa (Menware) should be a diagonal stripe across the head or in the shape of a 'V', but neither type should be without some white on the tip of the nose.

	A strong head Hi on this Showa is complemented by the quality of its Sumi. The white around the nose leads the eye nicely along the well-shaped body.
	The excellent body volume on this Showa and its tsubo Sumi are impressive. It has strong Motoguro in both pectoral fins.

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