Bekko (a/k/a steve hop a/k/a steveh opkins
) has had me wondering about Tancho body shapes. I've been thumbing through old show books and cannot say that pointed heads are any more prevalent than in other varieties, but looking at All Japan entries is not necessarily the best place to see what is common.
But Tancho deserves some special attention, because it is a special variety. (I refer to Tancho Kohaku.) It is the one variety defined by pattern and it has an ideal pattern that is minutely precise: A perfect circle of bright, thick, clear red positioned precisely in the middle of the forehead, extending to the area between the eyes, but not touching either eye and not overlapping onto the shoulder. The larger the maruten within this precisely defined area, the better. Clean white, with even scalation and a strong body gives a perfect Tancho.
So, what is the ideal body shape for a Tancho? We can imagine whatever we want, but Tancho are a rare by-product of Kohaku breeding. As a result, the torpedo shape is the shape for Kohaku Tancho. However, within Kohaku are some different bloodlines with a range of variation... Manzo, Sensuke, etc. These have been interbred innumerable times so that their different traits are now somewhat blurred. As JR pointed out on NI, there are body shape traits which are more prevalent in certain bloodlines and breeder strains. Among these, he noted that the Manzo line had a tendency toward a broad head and strong shoulder area. It seems to me that Tancho coming from a Manzo-influenced line of Kohaku would be preferable because the large, wide head would give the most ground for the largest maruten. With the maruten being the defining characteristic of Tancho, the head and face of Tancho takes on even more importance than in other varieties. Thus, in theory we would have the graceful, torpedo-shape of Kohaku, but with a wide head as the ideal shape for Tancho. Of course, this is a bit silly because truly good Tancho are rare animals. When one comes along, she should not be missed... oh, but she will be costly.
...A narrow, pointed head would not be desirable for Tancho.
At least, that's how it seems to me.