| Bob, showa can be a real lottery, that’s why they are such fun.
As Brady has posted above they can vary so much, even from the same spawn.
Knowing the breeders ‘product’ helps some, but can’t be held as gospel. As I’m sure you are aware from any breeding most are total rubbish, as the breeder culls time and time again, the numbers reduce. End of the season he many have a few hundred ‘keepers’ from the spawn. With 3 coloured koi, not only do you need a good kohaku pattern, but you also need sumi, as has been shown above, not all sumi is equal.
From the spawn above, there may be a few the breeder sees or believes to have real high quality, well placed sumi. These koi don’t go out with the general grade, if for sale a real premium has to be paid for these koi. The rest going onto the general market become this lottery, they will vary in price from cheap to very expensive, depending on the qualities on show. Picking one from this lottery is where the hobbyist eye comes in, even koi with the same price tag are not equal.
I just pass on the same information given to me and the knowledge gained from watching many so, so and just a few better quality shows I have owned. I’ve imported many while dealing in Japanese koi, I’ve been sucked in by batches of beautiful looking showa, with so much potential, I’ve kept some of these koi and have watched others I have sold. Many still look very pretty, but few have developed the sumi which looked to have so much potential.
We just have to remember, every koi has it’s price, but not every koi ends up looking the way the breeder, the dealer, or the hobbyist may have hoped.
Maurice. | 
02-11-2005
But have to respond to your query about the GC Showa. I did not care much for her at first... fine koi, but a GC at that level of competition? Then, as you study her, she starts becoming more interesting due to the relationships of Sumi bands and the motoguro. Except for the photos shot with the perfect filters and lighting, the Shiro is not as clean as one would like. The Hi does not have the uniformity of GC level Kohaku. So, why does she impress so much? The even quality of the Sumi gives her great presence. The Hi is part of the background canvas, like landscaping behind a central figure. It does not compete with the Sumi. The Hi lets the Sumi dominate. Combined with her size, I can imagine that she would have a dominating presence in the flesh, although a little more volume could improve her to my eye. ..... A good example of imperfect parts nicely packaged. And, a very strong impression that is Showa.
Linear Mode
Similar Threads 
