Kohaku

Kohaku is a variety of ornamental koi. The Kohaku has a white body, with red markings, or ‘hi’, across the body. The Kohaku is one of the gosanke; the ‘Big Three’, consisting of Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa. The Kohaku breed is believed to be one of the first ornamental carp varieties developed.

Showa

Showa is a variety of ornamental koi. The Showa is also known as the Showa Sanshoku. The Showa has a black body, with red and white markings across the body. The Showa is one of the gosanke; the ‘Big Three’, consisting of Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa. Showa were originally developed by Jukichi Hoshino about 1927.

Sanke

Taisho Sanke is commonly called Sanke. The Sanke is a three-coloured, non-metallic koi with a white base with hi patches and accenting sumi markings. The pigments appear only above the lateral line. Sumi stripes may appear in the fins. Large swathes or wide bands of black color appear on Showa.

Other Varieties

Koi varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colours are white, black, red, yellow, blue, and cream. Although the possible colours are virtually limitless, breeders have identified and named a number of specific categories. The most notable category is Gosanke, which is made up of the Kohaku, Taisho Sanshoku, and Showa Sanshoku varieties.