Is this one sanke or is it showa … and why?
Is this one sanke or is it showa … and why?
Showa.
Sanke
Showke :-)
Last edited by FRK; 06-21-2018 at 04:57 AM.
This is a Sanke. I would award this fish the most showa looking sanke ever. The sumi even wraps to the ventral side of the fish.... But this fish has tejima not motogoro
My understanding is that Sanke and Showa have a different type of sumi. This type is reflected in its appearance, but more so in how and where it develops. For example, sanke sumi normally comes in blocks above the lateral line and creates striped fins (Tejima). Showa sumi is normally wrapping from the dorsal through the ventral side and creates motogoro ( black in a condensed circle near the fin joint. If you look at this fish, the flanks look like a showa, but the head, nose, fins, and shoulder are very indicative of sanke sumi. This is my understanding anyway.
We all know what the ideals are for the different varieties but that doesn't mean that all offspring from those pairings hold true to the ideals. Life would be a lot easier for all breeders if that were the case.
My suspicion is this koi has both Showa and Sanke in its background and is expressing both. I personally think it looks more Sanke but as a Sanke it is far from the ideal. The sumi quality and placement is less than ideal. It does have sumi characteristics of Showa but that only means, to me, that it does not express the far more refined sumi of what we see often on good Sanke.
That does not mean all Sanke have ideal sumi, far from it. Go back far enough and you will see Sanke with what we think of as Showa sumi. To my eyes this looks like a less evolved or refined Sanke.