| Bingo! As much as we talk about conformation as a review or 'body' as a quality element, there are keys to certain varieties that are all the difference between a nice fish and an exceptional fish.
And beginners need to get enough exposure to shiro utsuri so that are not fooled by the impressive contrast of color alone.
Mike is right in that the nature of the shiro ground is everything in Shiro utsuri. To understand the level of evolution of shiro skin just compare it to ki utsuri and hi utsuri- they really can't, as a general statement, hold a candle to shiro utsuri. The reason is, the skin and ground color are of a more rare quality in shiro than in the other two varieties.
The difference beween a good and a great shiro utsuri is in the genes that trigger the type of skin. White is a mutation. But it can be due to :
a) a reduced amount of black in the skin ( very hard looking cottom like skin)
b) no black in the skin at all ( hard white)
c) no color in the skin at all. ( soft white)
Soft white is the highest quality white. Fish with hard white will often show color in the face. Fish of a soft translucent porcelin quality show no color at all in the skin. That is the highest quality fish typically as the sumi is highly complimented by that look. JR |