Hiban-Beni Plate

[Russell Peters]

How early on can you recognize pink and yellow beni?

Me, Tosai, you

[rainblood]

Me, Tosai, you

I need a professional beni Kohaku to match my professional contractor grade Home Depot pencils (and sharpener).

[Russell Peters]

A friend pointed me to an article in Nichirin magazine that was published in August 2007. It was an interview with the breeder Konishi and he talks about what to look for in picking Tosai Kohaku. This information would not apply to Koi as much as they get older but it certainly applies to younger Koi. When asked about Sashi his response was as follows;

Sashi, vague-red parts under white scales at the front of the Hi marking, was thought to be one of the points in examining good quality Hi before, however recently Sashi itself isn't important. You may say it is good when the Sashi part is uniform in width. If Sashi isn't uneven or wider than one scale, the Hi is less quality. There is no problem that a Hi marking has no Sashi.

He is saying that the better Beni is represented by Sashi that is uneven and more than one scale thick. Very interesting information.

[Russell Peters]

I often speak about that there is a difference between Beni that is changing andf Beni that is weak. Weak Beni breaks up and disappears and it can become painfully obvious what is happening after the fact. Quality, elastic Beni will stretch with growth and pull forward as it is developing to form Maruzome Kiwa. This is Kiwa that forms to the outline of the scale and leaves the back edge of the Hiban plate with a scallop shape. This type of Beni can have rather drastic changes as well. This series of pictures will show what I mean.
We have a customer that bought this Showa from Mr. Sakai and two years ago Mr. Sakai was explaining that the Beni on the shoulder and head would seperate and form a nice Maruten. You can actually see a few white scales where this process had already begun. This picture shows Mr. Sakai's hand as he is pointing to the area that will change.

[Russell Peters]

Mr. Sakai predicted that these changes would take place while in the mud that summer. Here is a picture of the Showa after she came out.

[Russell Peters]

This is a Showa that will take many years to fully develop. Here are some more pictures of her after she came out of the mud a year after the last pictures. The Beni is holding strong.

[rainblood]

I often speak about that there is a difference between Beni that is changing andf Beni that is weak. Weak Beni breaks up and disappears and it can become painfully obvious what is happening after the fact. Quality, elastic Beni will stretch with growth and pull forward as it is developing to form Maruzome Kiwa. This is Kiwa that forms to the outline of the scale and leaves the back edge of the Hiban plate with a scallop shape. This type of Beni can have rather drastic changes as well. This series of pictures will show what I mean.
We have a customer that bought this Showa from Mr. Sakai and two years ago Mr. Sakai was explaining that the Beni on the shoulder and head would seperate and form a nice Maruten. You can actually see a few white scales where this process had already begun. This picture shows Mr. Sakai's hand as he is pointing to the area that will change.

It looks like he is just flipping you the bird

[KatieVL]

I had a hard time appreciating the koi for the rock on the ladies hand.

[Russell Peters]

The information below is from INC.

Develops more beautifully as time passes


Kamiya Sanke is a good example of a Koi, which develops its beauty as it ages. In 1991 it received the first prize in Sanshoku category at the All Japan Combined show. During seven proceeding years Kamiya Sanke developed its beauty even more noticeably. As you can see from the pictures taken in year 1991 and 1998, the special dynamic beauty is present in the fish after 7 years, which was not there before. The body seems to have further developed in size and quality. The fish shows substantially more depth in Beni color and texture in 1998.

This is a good example of elastic Beni. Beni is something that changes and develops over a long period of time. It is noticeable that a movement of Hiban has taken place due to growth in size and its elasticity. Comparing the pictures that were taken in 1991 and 1998, it is clearly visible that Hiban right above the head with a thin line of Hi in the middle, has developed further. Seven years later the thin Hi joining two areas of Hiban, which was visible in 1991, is no longer visible and there are two separate Hibans with increased size, depth and color. Edges of the Hiban became much more solid, creating well-defined Kiwa in the picture taken in 1998. In the same picture, Hi is thicker and covers the whole area of Hiban with depth and strong consistent Beni. The development of Sumi throughout the body is visible in size, thickness and depth.

When I first posted the information, with this Sanke, I knew it was a Sanke from Matsunosuke but I didn't know much about it. I had e-mailed Miwa Sakai for information and I just got a reply. This Sanke is from their original Sanke bloodline before they introduced magoi blood in them to get longer bodies. Their original Sanke parents are no longer alive.