Tokyo / Isawa Bound PSKoi!

[koiczar]

Hi Richard

I'm not Russ, but having had the opportunity to see first hand the same things, I too am simply amazed at the quality of all three colors. The showa Russ posted last and spoke about the Maruzome Kiwa was a breathtaking thing to behold in person. The pictures, although very high quality, still don't give the same feeling as the visual aid of being there to see it in person. Although Toshio was teaching us about the sumi, the first thing that caught my eye was the quality and thickness of the shiroji. I believe what makes the scales appear thinner is nothing more than the fact that the color pigments run so deep. Usually, in tosai and nisai, you can see a translucency to the shiroji and the sumi scalation is has more of a blackish-brown appearance in the center of the scales. NOT SO ON THIS FISH!! Both colors were so thick that you could hardly make out the scales, EVEN WHEN THE FISH WAS OUT OF THE WATER!! The showa that Russ posted that a customer had purchased and left there to grow out, there isn't a lot of sumi that has completely surfaced as yet, but all Sakai kept saying is "very high quality", "very high quality", "body very good", good tategoi". You definitely have to use your imagination on that fish and see the sumi coming on the face (which is not visible in the photos) and other sections to understand the canvas the the color will be applied to over the next two years. This is one of his "new" Magoi bloodline showa and as "jumbo Nisai", is about 65cm (26"). Yet Sakai said when it was tosai, it was small. So much for needing "jumbo" tosai to grow big huh?!

[Danjols]

Wow, quality of lesson showa in this thread is outstanding. One of our study koi sent in May of 06 from INC shows many of the qualities talked about. Again, "very high quality"! and you are right, pictures do not give you the same impact as watching them up close and personal.

[PapaBear]

The "no drool rule" was completely unfair These pictures have been way too good not to...
I'm really looking forward to the "seminar thread" now. The quality of these is screaming through the photographs as it is so I'm sure if I did see them in person I'd be reduced to mumbling incoherently The Beni and Sumi remind me of some of the show car paint jobs from "back in the day". Candy Apple read and Coal Black with 20 coats of clear laquer to make it look a mile deep

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Rombold Your posts are a real asset to this forum. Thank you for your generosity in making these images available to all of us less fortunate. What strikes me the most about Toshio's showa is how the texture of the fish has become almost cloth like. Did he comment on how his breeding has led to thinner, finer scales and how this relates to the elasticity he referred to?

Hi Richard,
I think Mike has summed it up well. It is the depth of the colors that give it that elasticity Toshio is talking about. It is the thin, sharp colors that tend to be more "brittle". These are the colors that fail.
With the color so deep in the scales, they tend to blend together and as Toshio puts it, each year another layer of paint is added to the canvas. The scales just seem to disappear yet, if you look at the scales on the second showa, they are huge, but very even and uniform. This is a sign of very high quality.

[dick benbow]

Dan, you rascal, you snuck a picture in of cherry blossom....Talking about pictures not doing justice. I just about went into orbit when we opened the box last spring and laid eyes on her.....
That's why I'm so interested to get from the seminar. All That i learned over the decades with this many's fish is out the window with the new red and black. What was new to me, we grew CB and her friends pretty hard and there was no Hoshi on the beni scales. The intensity of the red never changed a bit and the black stayed inky no matter what the temp, high or low.....quite different than before....

Russ when you get a chance read the new thread i posted for the ladies
has a shameless plug...LOL

[Danjols]

Dick-CB is a very special koi, not unlike what Russ saw in Isawa and what will be discussed at the seminar. Everyone going is in for a treat and lesson of a lifetime. Hope there are some lucky koi kichi standing in line to purchase (rather would like to think) or win. Hey Russ, anticipation is growing!

[aquitori]

So how does the Sakai Isawa Showas compare to Dainichi Showas?

[dick benbow]

I sure love my Toshio sakai showa

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquitori So how does the Sakai Isawa Showas compare to Dainichi Showas?

That would be a good question to ask Toshio.
I know he would have a great explanation.

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters That would be a good question to ask Toshio. I know he would have a great explanation.

Yeah cause the 20+ years he has perfected his Showa line sounds like he developed a Dainichi Showa from the descriptions that are given of it...It would be a great question to ask him...