Show Classes

Kohaku Red and white fish where the red is found on the body and preferably on the head as well. Kohakus have an abundance of pattern types named (in Japanese) after the layout of the red. Fish with a single red pattern on the head are shown under the Tancho Class. Fish with dappled red pattern, i.e. where the red does not fully cover the scales are known as Kanoko Kohakus and are shown in the Kawarimono Class. Points of appreciation to look out for are:- consistency of colour, clear unblemished colours, white fins. This does not mean that a fish with red in the fins is a poor example. The essence of koi appreciation is to look and assess all the positive points. Negative points are only an issue when comparing two fish a similar quality.

Sanke A white fish with red and black colours in addition. The simple way is to think of a Kohaku and add a black pattern to its body - above the lateral line. Sankes often have black stripes in the pectoral fins and tail although this is not an essential characteristic.

Showa A black fish with red and white patterns on top. The main difference between this and Sanke is the placement of the black pigment. On Showa it is often found on the head (indeed it is desired here) and on the body above and below the lateral line. A distinctive Showa characteristic is the black patches found at the roots of the pectoral fins. Not an essential (for show purposes) characteristic, but if missing, it is better to be missing on both fins, rather than just one.

Utsurimono There are three seperate Varieties in this class. Shiro Utsuri, Hi Utsuri and Ki Utsuri. Basically think of a Showa with only two colours present, one of which is black. A black fish with a white pattern is called a Shiro Utsuri, with a red pattern a Hi Utsuri, and with a yellow pattern a Ki Utsuri. The most common variety seen at koi shows is the Shiro Utsuri.

Bekko Like Utsuri there are three varieties in this class too. The Shiro Bekko, the Aka Bekko and the Ki Bekko and they must all have black as one of the colours. Think of the either a red, white or yellow fish with the black of Sanke. A white fish is called a Shiro Bekko, a yellow fish a Ki Bekko and a red fish an Aka Bekko. The use of the Japanese word Aka instead of Hi (both mean reddish orange) is just a quirk of the Japanese language. Like the Utsuri the most common variety seen at Shows is the Shiro Bekko.

Asagi/Shusui Probably one of the simplest classes to identify - the blue fish, scaled (Asagi) and unscaled (Shusui), preferably with some orange highlights. There are several varities of these fish all dependent on the amount of orange with names like Hi-Asagi, Hi-Shusui, Hanna-Shusui etc. There are even varieties with yellow instead of orange which would be called Ki-Asagi etc.

Koromo Koromo in Japanese means 'robed', the robing in this case being a colour caste on the edge of the scale. The main varieties in this class are Ai-Goromo, Sumi-Goromo and Goshiki. For a basic description imagine a Kohaku with this 'robed' pattern on top. On the Goromos the robing is found only on the red pattern, if the robing is bluish, the fish is an Ai-Goromo, if the robing is black then it's a Sumi-Goromo. When the robing is found on the white as well as the red the fish is a Goshiki (see example on left).

Kinginrin KinGinRin is an amalgamation of three Japanese words, Kin = Gold, Gin = Silver and Rin = Scales, which literally sums up this class - fish with gold & silver in their scales. Please note the emphasis on the 'in'. Fish given this name can be any variety at all with the addition of gold and/or silver flecks in their scales. The example shown (right) is a Gin Rin Showa. For show purposes only fish from the varieties Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa are benched in this class. All other varieties will be benched under their variety as though they had no kinginrin.The term Kinginrin is generally shortened to Ginrin in everyday use.

Tancho To be classed as a Tancho a koi needs to have a red pattern on its head and nowhere else. The pattern can be any shape but balanced and symmetrical shapes are preferred. Like the Ginrin this term can apply to any variety, but for Showing the class is restricted to just Tancho-Kohaku, Tancho-Sanke and Tancho-Showa. Should a Tancho have Ginrin as well, (see the example on left) it remains in the Tancho class for show purposes, purely based on the fact that the Tancho Class was invented long before that of the Kinginrin class.

Kawarimono All of the preceding show classes have one thing in common, they all have non-metallic skins. The Kawarimono Class is the place for any of the other non-metallic varieties brought to a show. The examples on the right show some of the varieties you can find here, the examples are a Kigoi, a Ginrin Matsukawabake and an Ochiba Shigure.

Hikarimuji This and the next two Show classes are for all the metallic skinned varieties, favoured by many a hobbyist. The Hikari-muji class is reserved for the single coloured varieties, such as Purachina, Yamabuki and Ogon. Metallic Matsubas are also found in this class as the matsuba feature is considered a scale characteristic and not a colour. Matsuba fish have a brown smudge at the root of each scale given the fish the pattern of a pinecone, which is what the literal translation of Matsuba means.

Hikariutsuri This class is for metallic versions of Showa and Utsuri. The most common variety found here is the Kin-Ki-Utsuri - a metallic version of the Ki-Utsuri a very popular fish. The example shown (right) is of the less common Kin Showa.

Hikarimoyo This final class is for any metallic skinned fish not covered by the two classes above. Therefore, as you would imagine this class has many varieties. The example shown (left) is a Kikusui. Other varieties include - Ginsui, Hariwake, Tora-ogon, Shochikubai, Yamatonishiki, Ki-kikuryu, and Kujaku.

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