Judge these Asagi..

[aquitori]

Here you go, a hard one...This should be a good one for Dick. How would you rank these Asagi 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

[marco]

Funny to be the first to reply even if i'm not a specialist like you ..

I third one seems to me to be the nicer because of the hi on the head and the dorsal fin and the the regularity of the scale; the second is second too in the classement because i like to see some hi on the head like the first one. I don't realy like the first one because of the head that has some yellow.
I will see now if i'm really wrong..

[MikeM]

Dick is going to have a terrible time. He will want to look a lot closer!

I agree with Marco, but for different reasons.

.... C, B and A.

C comes first because the body conformation is about perfect for Asagi. The motoaka is even and matches well with the cheeks. I consider the spot of Hi on the face a negative, but the face is so clean and white I can overlook it. The photo captures a glow & sheen that would be magnificent in person.

B has the sort of scalation I prefer (what I can make of it in such small pics), and is a very attractive fish. The misfortune is having the lesser white of the face compared to koi C, and the body not as strong. Maybe another year of loving care?

A is the reverse Asagi and I wish I had the water for keeping Asagi so I could have one just like her. A wonderful koi, just not in the same quality league as C. The Hi is washed out; there is a yellowish undertone throughout; and there is a dullness to the overall impression.

[koifishgirl]

A-1st B-2nd C-third. If I had my choice of koi it would be B because of hi and scale pattern very good. Only small amount of hi in lips and does not look bad on this koi

[dick benbow]

I was surporised to see a non gosanke challenge.

from a judges perspective cba is the order. Altho i don't care for the heavy red
in C especially the dot in the forehead. I prefer more the B koi for distribution of red altho I like the blue of c in the asagi han as opposed the the darker blackish of b.

that said I'd take A in a heartbeat if i could afford Him. Yes he does have a female shape. If that's the koi I think it is Otsuka bred him and Mark Bodycott did a masterful job of getting that koi to sell. ( he swims with majesty on the video ) as I've often said before i love the late bloomers. if that koi was in my budget It would have been here
3 months ago swimming in my pond.


like i always said " I wish'd I'd have been born rich instead of good looking "....
or like my mama used to always tell me..." Honey, I hate to be the first one to tell you but you missed out on both counts"....(LOL)

in defense of Mark...Quality is like buying oates. If you want good clean fresh oates you must pay a fair price for them.......However....If you would be just as happy with oates that have already been thru the horse, then they come a little cheaper! alas (sigh ) no oates ( or reverses) for me!

[gregbickal]

C for me please. Is A a reverse Asagi ? Looks like the one on Mark Bodycotts page.

[ChrisC]

Kate McGill, in her Appreciation of Koi book says: "

In recent years, interest has focused on new hi pattern styles for Asagi and Shusui. For example, both are now being developed with forehead hi. Classically, the arrangement of hi centred along the sides of the head and body has been a particular appreciation point of this group, together with the very clear, unblemished, blue or white forehead.....In light of such developments, this appreciation point may require reevaluation in the future."

Given the reaction to the hi spot on "c" is this heresy, wishful thinking, or the evolution of the hobby?

[MikeM]

Chris: It takes time for change of the type Ms McGill is discussing to take hold. It must survive in the eyes of many judges before a new standard is accepted. Even then, the mark on the forehead of C is not well-shaped, not large enough to bring balance to the pattern and not sufficiently unique to add personality to the fish .... IMHO. With Asagi, all is balance and symetry, quite unlike most vaieties. It is a very exotic costume, but the symetry keeps it under control.

[dick benbow]

Well stated Mike!



Chris, over the years i have seen various color varieties change and the different become the standard. I often thought to myself is it because breeders can't keep up with the former stringent requirerments or that customers are looking for something new or different. Change does seem to be inevitable but when it comes to the color varieties i love, I don't buy it. I may be extending the point but i remember a few decades ago when breeders of sensuke kohakus would criticize those like sakai of hiroshima for making the sensuke red, too red and ruinning the bloodline.So you had to ask, if the effort to breed sensuke to maintain the status quo or evolve it into something even better? With Sakai's
success I think you have ther answer.

[Mike T]

If it's got red on it Chuck It...Check out latest KB...Only Asagi worth owning is the two color blue and white one...Shibui at it's best...

You wouldn't want chrome strips going down the sides of a Jag 140k would you? So why would you want splotches of hi on a pristine blue and white Asagi???

KISS!!!!!

Sorry meds are making my hyper ...Mike