How to select a good Showa Koi [Detailed guide]

00:00 Introduction and Showa variety
1:50 Menware and Hachiware on Showa
2:40 Large sumi patches
2:55 Modern and more traditional type of Showa
3:25 Development of black sumi patches
04:40 Motoguru, sumi in the pectoral fins
05:18 Balance on a showa
06:20 Motoguru as indicator for sumi development
07:33 Characteristics of the red patterns
10:56 White skin on Showa
11:24 White skin a food
11:56 Body posture for good Showa
12:29 Widest point of the body
13:00 Backbone on Koi
13:53 Tail section for a good Koi

Don’t you want to have a great looking Showa in your Pond? Well this video is for you, all the details you have to look for when selecting a Showa!
In this video we cover all topics that are relevant. Including the characteristics of the pattern and development of it. Details about the red, black and white markings. And also body posture and all characteristics about the body when selecting a Koi.

Showa are three coloured Koi with a black body and white and red markings. It is together with the Kohaku and Sanke variety the most populair one, all three part of the Gosanke class.

Showa have a black base: That means when the variety is born and is only a week old, the entire fish is black. For this reason you have to be aware that you don’t select a showa that will develop too much black. You surely don’t want a showa that will develop entirely black.

Important to know is that the head pattern on Showa is very important. We talk about the Menware and hachiware, both V-shaped patterns on the head that make a separation between the white, red and black pattern. The Hachiware is more like a lightning pattern over the head, it literally means divided head in Japanese.

Underdeveloped black: The black of Showa will gradually develop during the lifespan. The intensity will be higher at an older age. But especially in the first couple of years sumi can develop very fast.

The sumi pattern: You want to search for showa that have a nice balanced pattern. Preferable the black patches are large and starts on the belly section of the Koi, upwards to the back of the Koi. Especially when Koi will grow larger this looks nicer, more elegant and gives a more powerful look. You don’t want to look for small black spots, you want to make sure large patches of black will develop.

Motoguru: Showa should have motoguru in the pectoral fins. It basically are black markins or blobs of black paint in the middle or core of the pectoral fins. It will develop over time, and is also a good indicator if visible on young Koi that the sumi is strong enough to develop. Make sure that motoguru is equally divided over the two fins. One fin fully black and the other half black will look imbalanced when the Koi is large.

A bright white skin will make sure that the black and red patterns look even better. If the white is not white, black won’t look as black as well. It is all about the contrast. But note that the food you use also can impact the white colour. It can look more yellowish when you feed more protein containing Koi food during summer time.

Some details you have to look for when selecting a Showa are the red patterns. Hi means red, sometimes beni is used for high quality red. The intensity of the red colour should be balanced over the entire body of the Koi. Red should be strong and without lighter colours in the pattern visible. Red patches preferable are larger, small hi spots are not highly appreciated at all. And in the fins no red should be visible.

We make a difference between the more classic Showa with more sumi (black) and the kindai showa or modern showa. Nowadays a lot of people are in search for a ‘kindai’ Showa. It is a showa with less sumi and actually more shiroji (white) on the body. We will explain briefly what the difference is with the examples.

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