| Regulars on this board know that Showa is a favorite of mine. I began this thread by identifying the old-style of Showa as one of the four categories of body shapes of Nishikigoi. That was, perhaps, rather misleading of me. There is tremendous variation among Showa. If you check out the "Rainbow of Showa" thread I started a year ago, I think you will see what I mean. Of the several Showa pictured, no two have the same body shape. The range of shapes is extreme.
I think Showa are the most difficult koi to understand. It is the most recently developed of the Gosanke and suffers from a high rate of deformities... a clear signal of genetic weakness from in-breeding. From the time Showa was first recognized, breeders have been crossing it with Kohaku to improve the red, crossing with Sanke (and Bekko) to improve the Sumi. It would seem nobody liked Showa for what it was, but loved it so much they had to work at making it something different. A couple of years ago on NI, I had an exchange with Brady Brandwood on Showa. He made a statement that has stuck in my mind. After describing the refinement of Kohaku and Sanke, he observed, Showa remains "untamed". I think that says much about the essence of Showa. It is untamed.
If you review Japanese show books from the 1970s and even into the 1980s, there is a classic Showa shape that predominates (but is not universal). It is a broad-chested koi, with strong shoulders, a large head and the appearance of a flattened abdomen. The image is one of strength, like one of those Niigata bulls. Speed and grace are not part of it. Kobayashi began altering Showa in many fundamental ways through the 1960s, creating a tricolor koi with brilliant color, at least in comparison to the brownish ones that came before. Continued aggressive crossing over the last quarter century has given us the Kindai Showa and increasingly Sanke-like Showa. The pigment has improved immensely, although Showa Hi still remains different that Kohaku Hi in most examples... and, in my opinion, needs to be more red to play against the deep lacquer black of the best Showa. Orange-based Hi can look too orange against so much black.
So what does this have to do with body shape? Well, quite simply the body of Showa has changed to be more like the torpedo-shape of Kohaku, but if you review the pictures of Showa in the koi mags or posted on this board in any thread about koi show winners, I think you will see that the old-style shape lingers in one trait or another, but also that there is a lack of uniformity. Compare the All-Japan Maruyama Showa Grand Champion from 2005 with a mature Magoi-based Matsunosuke Sanke and the body of an old-style Ogon. Influences can only be guessed, but it seems to me some genes are expressing themselves.
To try to decide the shape best suited to Showa necessitates deciding what Showa should be. Brady has explained his view that Showa is all about balance.... balance of the three colors; balance of black against red, ying and yang; balance of motoguro, balance of pattern, balance of body weight. The famous Kato Showa is acclaimed, but look at each of its colors separately and it is a failure. It is only in the balance that it becomes so magnificent a piece of art. On the other hand, Matt McCann speaks of "atmosphere"... that Showa is about the impact of color and pattern and body creating an emotional statement. The veins of Sumi forming across the body do more than the splotches of Sumi on a Sanke. They create a dynamic pattern that has every part playing against another and creating a human sort of expression with menware and hachiware. And of course, the contemporary Showa is not the same as the classic patterning of Showa. I once described it as the difference between a samurai warrior in full battle regalia and a modern naval admiral in full dress uniform. Which is the Showa ideal?
I think it is too soon in the development of the untamed Showa to say that any one shape is the ideal shape. Being biased toward the patterning of classic Showa, I tend to favor an old style-like shape, but perhaps not unadulterated. Those old Showa did not grow so large, and today it takes size to exhibit the strength that is at the heart of Showa. It was easier to look strong when 28" koi were rarities. But still, the large head and broad shoulders are needed if menware and hachiware are to be expressed artistically. The play of mountains of black against Shiro needs a big frame, or the fish just looks heavy, as if weighted down by its battle gear. Perhaps an intermediate between the old-style shape and the torpedo shape strikes the right balance? Examine the best of Ueno and Dainichi Showa and I think you will see it.
....but one thing is sure. Among the Showa to be seen at dealers today, there are relatively few with bodies worth keeping. Even the best known breeders keep far too many with weaknesses, but consumers buy them. Showa is untamed, but despite its impression of strength and all the crossing with Kohaku and Sanke, it remains genetically weak. Perhaps in a way that appearance of strength and existence of weakness is another aspect of Showa being about balance. | 
06-22-2006
You are a 'passionate writer's' worst nightmare sir! I have written Hisashi Hirasawa's Marudo Yorijo one hundred times on the black board! 
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