Selecting Showa Sanshoku
Judge the following three koi. Click on your choice for first place and see how you did.
First Place: B - This Koi has it all! In addition, everything about this Showa is beautiful: conformation, color clean, brilliant and bright and a well balanced pattern. The neat Kohaku pattern with the Shiro Utsuri pattern overlaying it could not be better. This koi would win if we took away the Utsuri pattern or took away the Kohaku pattern.
Second Place: C - Here is a case where the pattern is so unique that it outweighs the lack of luster of the hi. But as you have seen, there is a large degree of subjectivity when judging the Showa Sanshoku class. The donut shaped sumi on the shoulders makes this Koi jump out of the water at you, as it is so stricking. True the hi is not quite up to standard but you will never see another Showa with a unique pattern as this one. Note the nice moto-guro yet there is no black on the nose as Showa normally need. The Japanese are very forgiving in that the Koi can lack moto guro these days and just have sumi on the face or visa versa. This approach was not totally accepted in the US nor in Japan just a few years ago.
Third Place: A - Five years ago this Koi would have been rated right on the top. Now the trend for Showa is more white and less sumi, ie favoring Kindai Showa. This Showa has a beautiful deep shiny sumi but these days, it is almost overwhelming. Judges desire a larger proportion of white The shoulder white on this Koi is not pure. But the hi and sumi are unusually clean with the sumi color being perfect.