All Japan Show... Mark and Martin Win!

[ChrisC]

At the risk of getting back to koi---

I heard Mark and Martin say that the GC is 92-93 cm. She looks it in person.

Also, the photos don't do her justice. The shiroji is WHITE on this fish.

After looking at her for awhile, I thought she was even better than at first glance. The pattern balances, and works on her.

She's HUGE.

Congrats to Sakai Hiroshima, Martin and Mark.

[junglegeorge12]

That is what I figured with the shiro. Lighting and camera filters. I noticed some of the judges made comments about the high quality of the shiro so I knew something did not add up with those photos.

[koibito]

Correct me if I am wrong. I notice that the shiroji for jumbo kohakus like the AJGC does not shine like those of the showa or sanke or shiro utsuri. Is it because of the food that the breeders feed to the koi or is it in the bloodline of the kohaku. The reason I am asking this question because I have several kohakus that I bought as tosai that have super pure white skin and deep red hi. However, after approximately three months in the pond, the kohakus became shiroji kois.

Thanks.

[Bern]

I think the problem is the Fukurin that these large Go-Sanke have. It's deflecting the light differently, scale vs skin which the cameras are picking up. The human eye/brain compensates for this when seeing the fish in real life.


rgds Bern

[PapaBear]

As previously noted, the photo's of the AJGC only make the shiroji "appear" to be of lesser quality while the Judges and several eyewitnesses have said otherwise.
As to your Tosai, it could be feed, environment, or genetics. Hard, high ph water is bad for beni. If they are genetically mediocre that is all it would take for them to fade out. Some koi also stress easily and transporting to a new home will cause an otherwise attractive koi to go bland.
That is another thing worth noting about show winners. The color and luster of a GC doesn't fail under the stress of moving to a show which is another indicator of just how genetically strong they really are.

Quote: Originally Posted by koibito Correct me if I am wrong. I notice that the shiroji for jumbo kohakus like the AJGC does not shine like those of the showa or sanke or shiro utsuri. Is it because of the food that the breeders feed to the koi or is it in the bloodline of the kohaku. The reason I am asking this question because I have several kohakus that I bought as tosai that have super pure white skin and deep red hi. However, after approximately three months in the pond, the kohakus became shiroji kois. Thanks.

[MikeM]

Bern: I have noticed that. The fukurin skin is so white it makes the scale seem slightly tinted. A photo enhances the tint, making the Shiro seem a bit pinkish/yellowish. In person, the effect is quite different.

[dick benbow]

in changing gears abit, annually i will ask those that have attended previous
All Japan Shows how this one compares with those past. More fish ,less, more unusual,more gosanke, less kawari goi anything to give someone a sense of the flow...and well I never seem to get that covered.
I can't imagine that Mike Snaeden would be following this thread this long, he usually pops in and out...but in all seriousness I would like to get a sense of this year's show as someone "saw it"....as compared with others what's your sense of direction...

[koibito]

So now that the show is over. What would happen to Mark and Martin GC?

Are they going to bring the GC back to their pond(s)? What is the estimate shipping cost for such a jumbo?

What kind of a pond that Mark and Martin has? How big? Filter System? What kind of food they would feed the GC? ...

Cheers.

[Bern]

From what I have gleaned from other Brits that met up with Mark & Martin at the Combined show. They are considering offers from Japanese breeders for the GC. At the moment the chances of it arriving in the UK are slim.

Mark's pond featured in an article in Koi Carp magazine in either 2004 or 5. From memory it was 20k+ gallons. Remember that's Imperial Galls. It was a large pond with a small number of fish. Nine seems to come to mind.At the time that included the BKKS National 2004 GC, which has subsequently been sold to a dealer in Germany (Koi San DE). It was exhibited at the Dutch (NVN) National Show.

I don't know the status of Martin's pond. Last time I have a real conversation with him (2004) he was looking for property abroad, Thailand was mentioned but his options were open. But he was determined to become an ex-pat.

A lot of Martin's old UK fish turn up on show at the South East BKKS show exhibited by their new owners. In 2003 one of his Shiro Utsuri took Mature Champion having narrowly lost the vote on GC.

One of his Sanke took has taken GC twice (2004 & 5) at the "4 Section" show, a smaller show than the South East where the Sanke has only taken Kokugyo awards. But that fish is improving all the time.

rgds BERN

[Nishikigoiboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow in changing gears abit, annually i will ask those that have attended previous All Japan Shows how this one compares with those past. More fish ,less, more unusual,more gosanke, less kawari goi anything to give someone a sense of the flow...and well I never seem to get that covered. ....as compared with others what's your sense of direction...

Great point Dick.



Although there were only a little over 1600 koi entered in this year's All Japan Show, the unanimous opinion of the judges and participants was that the overall quality was far above last year's.



This was true not only in the smaller sizes, but was especially apparent in the larger sizes of 75cm and up. Kentaro Sakai commented that the competition in the 80bu division was "Gekisen" which roughly translates as the front lines in a war!



Unlike last year's competition, the Grand Champion towered head and shoulders above the other entrants. In the first round of voting she garnered 41 out of 95 votes. Kohaku bred by Sakai of Hiroshima filled the first three slots with two other koi (Danichi? and Momotaro) coming in a distant fourth and fifth....the Momotaro Sanke had just 4 votes! The Mask Kohaku was confirmed Grand Champion on the second vote with a majority of over 50

votes.



This was the second year for the show to be conducted according to the "My Pool" style (a modified English style) in order to prevent the possibility of cross contamination between fish from different contestants.



All of the smaller koi were lined up according to size and variety in special vinyl bags for judging. Each vinyl bag had a pocket with an entry form that had a high quality photo of the koi along with all of it's statistics.



This method of judging allows the judges to compare koi side by side which makes for much more accurate judging not to mention cutting way down on the time required to judge.



In past years Judging started at 9:00am and was hard pressed to finish before 5:30pm, making for a really long day of judging. This year, many of the 16 judging teams were finished as early as 1:00pm, with all the judging completed before 3:00pm.



Computerization has made entering, judging, and and the printing of the hanging award tags (Tanzaku) a breeze. Life in the office is much more bearable and low key compared to previous years. This allows many of the breeders and dealers who would normally be tied up with administrative duties to spend more time in the main hall with the visitors attending the show.


One thing that is apparent from this year's GC is that it is now possible to create Gosanke in excess of 90cm without sacrificing their body conformation, beni, skin quality or youthful appearance. This year's GC has set a standard that has raised the bar for all Grand Champions to come.