If showas are black then.......

[mulberryjen]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM The great Showa are few. Then their day is past. ... The one I call "The Dowager". As she was in 2004 and as she was portrayed a few years earlier in her prime (next to Shiro Utsuri). JR's metaphor of a cut flower is so apt.

Mike - thanks for the information and pics, but man, that is just plain depressing.

[MikeM]

Jen: Yes, but I have to say that in person the pure size of that fish was impressive ...like the way a plain Chagoi can remain in your mind when all the Gosanke at a show have been forgotten. Her brilliance was gone, but she had character.

This is not the first Showa I have seen where the Hi faded away, leaving an "under color" of "puke orange". In the "Rainbow of Showa" thread the one named "Ugly" did likewise, and I have had it occur to one other Showa in the past. I've also seen it on a couple of Showa elsewhere. I have not seen the same occur with Kohaku or Sanke, but I would guess that sometimes it must... perhaps more likely to be found in Showa than other Gosanke? Don't know. But the "imitation Dowager" pic is of one of my fish and she has the same orange under color covered by thin, bright red pigment. Not knowing about the orange under color, a person would think she has weak Hi or stretched Hi from rapid growth. But if you are thinking about the possibility of two layers of different pigments, then you can see it (if she holds still long enough to let your eyes focus). From a distance the red is very bright, and in photos the dual layers seem to magnify the brightness, but up close it can be seen that there is an under layer of color deeper in the skin with the bright red "floating" in the surface layer. Two different pigments.

I suspect that this underlayer of orange goes back to the genetic roots of Showa. Compare "The Dowager" in her decline to Ray Jordan's photo of a 1940s Showa. (RAY: I say that because I think that represents 1940s Showa genetics even if photo was taken in '60s.) I think you can see some pigment similarities.

Until the last 10 or so years, I think it could be generalized that Showa Hi was simply different Hi than that of Kohaku and Sanke. With the extensive mixing of Kohaku and Sanke into Showa, I think this generalization is no longer appropriate. But, there will still be examples of Showa exhibiting pigment traits from yesteryear. This under layer of orange/ over layer of thin Hi is, in my opinion, one of those ancestral traits.

Nota Bene: All of this is just my current thoughts on the matter, and I have to acknowledge that I'm speculating on some of the steps in my reasoning. So, don't assume I know what I'm talking about. Just things to think about when you are in the mood to appreciate all the work in the breeder's art that produced the jewel swimming before your eyes.

[KoiCop]

interesting observation and conjecture -- and I enjoyed your Showa thread very much.

Wonder what JR might have to say about your showa hi theory?

[MikeM]

Bump for Brady