Taisho Sanke, or Sanke for short, are koi with a solid white base overlaid by patterns of both red and black. It is commonly said that a high quality Sanke pattern begins with a great Kohaku pattern, to which the black is a welcome complement.
During the early 1900's, a new variety of koi was created by the addition of sumi (black) markings to the basic Kohaku patterns of red and white. This new variety was named Taisho Sanke and
Hi Utsuri combine the lacquer-black base color with patterns of deep red or orange. Red Hi Utsuri are superior to orange. Many Hi Utsuri will display a dull orange pattern at a young age, which may develop into a brighter and more desirable red pattern as the koi grows and matures.
Moto Guro: literally "basic black", an Utsurimono should have sumi (black) at the mouth or nose, at the base of both pectoral fins, and at the base of the
Shiro Utsuri are koi with a black base overlain by areas of white. A high quality Shiro Utsuri will combine clean white patterns with a deep, lacquer-like black. A split head of both black and white is also an important requirement for top quality specimen.
They say that you start with Kohaku and end with Kohaku. While this may be true to some, Shiro Utsuri is the other two-color koi that many koi keepers are starting to place in their
Goromoare, in essence, a Kohaku with blue or black edging added to each red scale. There are three sub types of Goromo: Budo Goromo have a blue edging outside of the scales that creates a grape-like cluster effect; Ai Goromo have blue edging only on the inside of the red scales; Sumi Goromo have black edging on the scales that can make the patterns appear almost completely black. Many times people will refer to this fish as a purple
Goshiki are koiwith a solid white base with black and blue edging, and red and black patterns overlaying the white, black and blue colors of the base. Goshiki in Japanese translates as "five colors". The five colors are black, gray, blue, white, and red.
To many including myself this is a favorite in many ponds. It is a very interesting colored Koi. Goshiki are black based non-metallic koi with a red dorsal pattern and usually having a matsuba (mesh) like
Ochiba Shigure, commonly referred to as Ochiba, combine the brown/bronze of Chagoi with the silver/grey of Soragoi. The name Ochiba Shigure translates in Japanese as "autumn leaves falling on water", a reference to the silver and bronze pattern.
A relative newcomer on the koi scene, having been around only since about the mid-90s, the Ochiba is actually a cross between a gray Soragoi and a golden brown chagoi. These two ancestors have a
Chagoiare solid colored brown or bronze koi with a subtle reticulated net pattern. Although they are not nearly as flashy or colorful as other types of koi, Chagoi are still a welcome addition to koi ponds. Because of their close genetic relationship with wild carp, Chagoi are some of the friendliest and most docile koi available. This makes them the easiest to train to hand feed, and other varieties of koi may follow suit when they see a Chagoi
Beni Kumonryu are a further variation of Kumonryu, where a red (beni) pattern is added to the base white (shiro) and black (sumi) colors of Kumonryu. Beni Kumonryu are always doitsu (scaleless). Some Beni Kumonryu are technically not completely scaleless, but rather have a single line of large mirror scales running along the lateral and dorsal lines.
The shiro and beni patterns change frequently, while the base shiro color always remains the same. No one is precisely
Kumonryu are scaleless (doitsu) koi with patterns of grey or white combined with black. Probably the most intriguing variety of koi, Kumonryu will completely change their pattern many times throughout their life. They can go anywhere from solid white to solid black, or any conceivable combination in between.
The Kumonryu was fully recognized in 1994 with a category of it's own at the All Japan Combined Nishikigoi show. The Kumonryu, which means "Nine Crested Dragon", is a most fascinating koi in
