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Article
Showa
by Mamoru Kodama
Picture B is an excellent three-year-old Showa that every
koi enthusiast would like to obtain. Its body conformation
is rich and good. The skin is pure white and beautiful. On
this pure white ground, the hi and sumi patterns combine
attractively to make the highest Showa pattern.
It begins with a little round hi spot and continues to the
fully expanded hi plate from its face to the shoulder. A
good size hi plate on the left back, Kuragake (horse saddle
shape) hi in the middle of dorsal fin, and perfect odome
hi at the tail section are great. It draws a beautifully
stepped hi pattern throughout its body. On the hi pattern,
high quality sumi makes a powerful and dynamic pattern.
Its combination of hi and sumi is excellent enough to impress
every koi hobbyist. This pattern deserves a good award at
the All Japan Nishikigoi shows.
The left belly has a round hi spot in the white background
and another hi on the right side of the tail joint. Without
them, this koi would definitely be a great candidate for
Kokugyo (Best in Size) prize at All Japan Nishikigoi shows.
But, considering the overall pattern, this is a very minor
defect.
This koi is still young. When this koi grows more than 32?
(80 cm), it will be one of the best representative Showas
in Japan. I believe nobody would reject this Showa at this
point; 100 out of 100 hobbyists want to purchase this Showa.
But no two koi are the same. Every koi is a one-of-a-kind
piece of artwork unique in the world. The more demands for
the koi, the more expensive it becomes.
So, we should find and obtain these koi when they are one
to two years old before they become distinguished koi. Especially
in the case of a Showa. At that age all their sumi has not
come up yet and they do not look beautiful. Naturally, fewer
hobbyists want the koi and the price is more reasonable.
We should buy koi when they are not beautiful and are inexpensive.
This is one of the great pleasures in koi hunting.
Picture A is the same Showa when it was a one-year-old.
In taking a close look, we can recognize that Picture A and
Picture B have the same hi pattern. But its hi pattern on
Picture A is very weak and not attractive. The sumi appears
only on the back part. It does not have the beauty that it
will have, but it remains a fact that this is the same koi
as Picture B when it was a one-year-old.
All distinguished koi at one time were one-year-olds. It
is important to develop the eye to find out the potential
of Grand Champion when they are a year old. It is a wonder
that koi are not necessarily beautiful at the age of one.
We can find this tendency more often in the Showa variety.
The sign of becoming a beautiful koi in the future has already
been exposed when they are 1-year-old. When we study koi,
we need to study about these signs.
The two signs to look for in the Showa variety are the hi
and sumi patterns. The hi pattern is mostly decided by the
time it is one-year-old. Sumi appears or disappears as it
grows. Please remember these two characteristics in a Showa.
Now, compare Picture A and Picture B. We can see that the
hi pattern has not changed at all, but the coloration and
beauty of hi is totally different. Therefore, the color of
hi does not matter when the koi is a one-year-old. The pattern
only has to be good. You can start to understand how drastically
the impression or the presence of the hi pattern changes
when the koi grows up.
As its body grows larger, the impression the pattern gives
can be more powerful, more distinguished, or gentler. For
example, look at the face in Picture A. It gives a very sharp
impression. When it grows up in Picture B, with the addition
of sumi, it gives a very excellent and attractive impression.
Also, shiroji (white background) as well as hi are not beautiful
in Picture A. On the other hand, shiroji becomes pure white
and hi turns out truly red in Picture B. The coloration demonstrates
a bright and beautiful appearance. Although the basic hi
pattern will not change, we must predict how the impression
will change.
What makes this koi overwhelmingly distinguished lies in
the sumi. Even if the koi in Picture A grew up large with
pure white background and beautiful red, this koi would never
become a distinguished koi without a good sumi pattern. Because
the sumi appears beautifully from its mouth throughout its
body, this Showa changed to become a surprising beauty.
Can we predict how the sumi will appear only by looking
at Picture A?
Yes. A little training will make it possible. The training
is to compare the pair of pictures like this many times.
Also, obtain as many examples as possible and study the trends
of sumi appearance.
Take a closer look at Picture A and Picture
B. Watch the
sumi pattern very carefully and then turn your eyes to Picture
A. We can tell the sign of the future: the sumi pattern appears
at every part of the body. By looking at Picture A, we can
train our eyes to predict what kind of sumi will appear,
where and how and how beautiful the koi will become in future.
The secret of buying good quality koi for a low price depends
on nothing but your trained eyes.
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