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I believe that a lot of the advancement from the Brits come from the monetary aspect of the koi they are buying. I know for a fact that the higher end European market buys higher end koi. The best example that I can think of is Martin Plows and Mark Crampton. They are not shy when it comes to purchasing true high end koi.
When I was in Japan, many different breeders quoted me some of their top koi at 5million yen
(about $50,000.00 U.S.), and some wouldn't even tell me the price of their top koi. The quality of koi in Japan is extremely high. When you hear that the breeders don't want to let the koi leave Japan, I don't think it's true. If you show them the right amount of money, believe me, it'll leave Japan. The only ones that they truly will not sell are the Oyagoi.
So at this point, I'd have to say that the Brits have far better koi than those of the people in the U.S.
As far as the Ginrin Showa featured in Koi USA, the judging if I'm not mistaken was based on pictures, and not the actual koi.
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