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well, just as we have our favorite varieties of koi we , as judges, must leave our personal views out of judging. In the same way we may like showa but choose a sanke as a best of size because the sanke is simply a better fish, we must also choose the best fish in a beauty contest as a finished beauty ( and not maybe the fish would actually personally buy if offered the two competitors in a sale).
The Japanese breeder judge is picking the fish with the best genetics. This can be without regard to it's condition, current luster or even minor faults. I remember one breeder, for instance, that picked a tancho with an absolutely awful head pattern as number one. His explanation to me was that the beni on the bad tancho mark was of a superior quality to the beni on the better tanchos competing. I think this was a perfect illustration of breeder eye clashing with show standard eyes.
In the opposite example- The extreme amateur breeder may be completely unaware of quality and be picking a fish simply because it has a lovely pattern, or flashy colors. Never really seeing that the fish is generally inferior in quality to all the other fish around it.
I think the enlightened judge can recognize the limits to both these points of view and pick the RIGHT fish on the day.
getting back to the subject, a tategoi is unfinished by definition. A show fish brings great luster and finish to the show ring if it is going to win unanimously. JR
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