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Showa

The Showa is always a popular Koi, though it can be difficult to get a high quality one. The Showa made its debut during 1927. It was developed by Jukichi Hoshino who paired a Kohaku with a Ki-Utsuri. A Showa is essentially a black Koi on which white and Hi are imposed.

There are two basic patterns that are liked. One is the Inazuma type where the Sumi divides the head Hi into two and then zig-zags down the body.

The other pattern is where the Sumi forms a 'V' with the point of this towards the snout.

The head Sumi is most important for if it lacks impact, then it will detract from the whole fish. Likewise, a good Sumi on the head followed by a very large Hi that is unbroken by Sumi is not impressive either. It is for these reasons that really outstanding Showa are hard to come by.

The Showa is the surprise Koi, the one whose pattern can change as it gets older. People tend to like it becuase of its unpredictability.

It is also most prone to mouth deformities and a bad head shape.

There are four varieties:

• Boke In the normal Showa, the Sumi must be coal black but in the Boke it is blurred and bluish in places as though the black had not made it to the surface of the Koi (which is just what has happened).
• Hi This is a showa with a large Hi patch which runs from head to tail.
• Kindai This means modern Showa. It carries white on it and as a result the Sumi of the pectorals-which are known as Motoguro-is often missing. In this case only the Sumi head patch tells you its a Showa rather than a Taisho.
• Doitsu This is a Showa with Doitsu scales.

Colors & Pattern

The Showa colors are predominantly black Koi with red and white markings. The uniformity of color are very important, and the white should be the color of snow. A traditional Showa should should generally have about 20 percent of white over it body, but this is not always the case. All color should be clean and well defined.

The white should have the same pure clarity as that of the Kohaku and Sanke. The original Showa was bred out of Ki-Utsuri and Kohaku and the resulting hi was a yellow-red hue, but in the 1960s the quality of the hi was improved and brightened by breeding Kohaku to Showa. A bright Kohaku-like hi is preferred.

The sumi of a Showa could have originated in either Tetsu-Magoi (early examples) or Asagi (later examples). The indigo Asagi sumi, which does not rise from the abdomen but emerges just below the lateral line and upward, is more desirable although it takes many years to grow from thin gray to shiny, thick ink black. The large sumi markings should be ebony in color and the hi blood red.

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