Kohaku

[Terri]

I have been thinking about doing a series of threads on Koi classification and varieties... and I'm hoping you all will help out. The idea is to offer information and photo's about each variety, comparing ideal representations of the variety to poor examples, and tips on what to look for when choosing a koi. Through this series many terms might be used that some may not have heard before so offering a short definition is a nice touch to help learn the terminology so often used. Many times new hobbyist are looking for identification of their koi and I thought starting this here might be helpful...

Here we'll start with Kohaku, 1 of 'Big 3' (Gosanke - kohaku, sanke, & showa) in the 14 classes of koi which are judged at koi shows.
Kohaku
Description: a white-bodied koi that has red (hi) markings along its back. Kohaku can be normally scaled, ginrin (scales which exhibit a sparkling effect), or doitsu (with lines of scales on the back and along the lateral lines, without scales, or with only one line of scales on each side along the base of the dorsal fin).
Patterns: Inazuma (lightning strike) is a continuous red marking from the head to the tail, with variation. Step patterns (dan) are preferred by most. Nidan, two-step, sandan, three steps, and yodan, four steps, are common hi patterns for kohaku. A tancho kohaku is a white koi with a red spot centered on it's head. A maruten kohaku has a red circular patch on its head and at least one other red patch on its body. Kuchibeni is red on the lips of a koi.
History: The Kohaku was the first variety of Koi to become established in the 19th century and has remained the favourite koi of the the Japanese ever since.

My examples of Kohaku
http://www.canadiankoiandpond.ca/koigallery/sales/sales8/thumbnails/LL80_41_resize.jpg http://www.canadiankoiandpond.ca/koigallery/sales/$80/thumbnails/LL206-50_82_jpg.jpg http://www.canadiankoiandpond.ca/koigallery/sales/$60/thumbnails/LL206-60_85_jpg.jpg

Please feel free to add your own comments and pictures of your Kohaku!! If you have questions then by all means ask!!

[carcha koi]

MORE TEACH US MORE :smile:
THANKS TERRI, KEEPEM COMING

[Jackie Ramo]

Here is my kohaku, never been my favourite type but this one is cute.

http://jackieramo.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSCN8362.JPG

[marla]

Terri, I love this thread. Please do more!!!!

[Terri]

Well I'm happy to hear this is a welcome addition... but with over 60 views I hoped more would have joined in. Kohaku may be 'just a red & white fish' but there is a lot to learn about what makes this variety special.

Off to start another thread for this series...

[Terri]

Another nice example of a Kohaku Marc & Tamara's (http://backyardpuddle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1357) :-)

[Jackie Ramo]

[QUOTE=Terri]Well I'm happy to hear this is a welcome addition... but with over 60 views I hoped more would have joined in. Kohaku may be 'just a red & white fish' but there is a lot to learn about what makes this variety special.

QUOTE]


Perhaps you could tell us what makes it special. To me they are boring red and white fish. Now Sanke or Showa, those are fish with pizazz.

[clm]

I love the red and white fish personally. I do have one and it's one of my favorites.

Cindy

[dcny]

Here are a few other terms often associated with kohaku and other gosanke.

Sashi - the leading edge of a hi pattern. It often looks blurry. This is caused by the end of a white (shiroji) scale overlapping the beginning of a red (hi) scale.

Kiwa - the trailing edge of a hi pattern. There are two styles of kiwa - Maruzome and Kamisori. Maruzome kiwa is rounded kiwa and follows the scallop shape of the scale. Kamisori kiwa is razor-cut kiwa and cuts across the scales rather than following the shape of the scales.

Kanoko - a dappled kohaku pattern

[Terri]

All koi varieties are 'special' in their own unique way :wink: Kohaku are by far not my favourite variety, and for a long time I didn't understand what was 'so great' about a red'n'white fish - they sort of reminded me of sarassa comets (gawd did I just say that! !wow! ).
In the past 2 years I've really come to appreciate what goes into creating/culturing Kohaku, and I'm still learning. You are an artist Jackie, so you should understand what it takes to bring beauty and style with ONLY TWO COLOURS. With Kohaku it comes down to the sheer crisp contrast of red and white patterned on an impressive canvas (body confirmation of the koi). Any one can breed kohaku but only few have the vision and skill to create kohaku art. It doesn't end there,... the collector plays a role in shaping and refining their koi to maintain that beauty. Does that make any sense?

Let me ask this,.. many of us admire and appreciate 'cow fish', shiro utsuri, which is a two coloured koi - what is the difference between kohaku and utsuri that attracts us? (Speaking of colour reference here) Can a red and white koi not be as dramatic, appealing to the eye, as a black and white koi? Ofcourse it comes down to personal taste, but why would one think kohaku have no pizazz?

Thank you Dan :) I've attached a few pics of Kanoko Kohaku. This pattern type is not exclusive to Kohaku but can be seen in many of the varieties... Kohaku with this pattern, so I've recently found out, are not judged as Kohaku but are placed in the Kawarimono classification. The more I learn the more my head spins LOL

[dcny]

Those are both good examples of kanoko kohaku. Here's another.

http://koi-brin.belinter.net/catalogue/koi/part2/kanoko_kohaku.jpg

Below is a picture from "Living Jewels" by Watt / de Kock. The first two images on the left side of the page show Kamisori vs Maruzome kiwa, when you imagine that the head of the fish is toward the bottom of the page. The last image is sashi and tries to show the white scale over lapping a red one.

On the right side of the page you can see examples of nidan, sandan, and yodan that Terri mentioned in her first post. As well as ippon hi and inazuma. Ippon hi describes a kohaku with one large, continuous red pattern.

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm not at all sure I like the dappled pattern although dcny's pic is very interesting and would be more so to see it swimming. Maybe its just lack of exposure to this type of pattern.

Not sure why one would prefer a black and white fish over a red and white fish, except that i do, and yet red is my favourite colour... so its not colour perhaps its contrast.

[Jackie Ramo]

I love the red and white fish personally. I do have one and it's one of my favorites.

Cindy

Hi Cindy, nice to see you here. show us your kohaku.

[clm]

I'll give it a try. No idea yet if male or female, but I call her Lucy. One of my first koi.

Cindy

[dcny]

Let me ask this,.. many of us admire and appreciate 'cow fish', shiro utsuri, which is a two coloured koi - what is the difference between kohaku and utsuri that attracts us? (Speaking of colour reference here) Can a red and white koi not be as dramatic, appealing to the eye, as a black and white koi? Ofcourse it comes down to personal taste, but why would one think kohaku have no pizazz?


I think it come down to how the pattern appear on the body. The red patterns of kohaku float on top to the fish whereas, the black patterns of shiro utsuri wrap around the fish. The floating patterns of kohaku and sanke give a more elegant appearance. The wrapping patterns of shiro utsuri and showa give a more powerful appearance.

-Dan

[Terri]

:grin: Dan, nice description! So there we have it, power over elegance ;-) ...must say something about one's personality as to which is preferred LOL

[Jackie Ramo]

My favourite would be green ones, representing money !rofl

Cindy, your kohaku looks male but how old is it?

[clm]

3 years old. Grown a lot this year too, but not as big as my black and white one (now still almost all white by the way). Obviously not an expensive fish either, since one of my originals, just bought it at Humber Nurseries when I decided to try a few koi a couple of years ago....none of my fish are expensive, but they're all priceless to me. I've gotten so attached to them. This one and the black and white one did a lot of chasing each other around this spring, but no spawning.....it's a lot harder to tell if you only have 2 fish big enough to spawn. I keep hoping that all my fish end up being all male or all female, but you know I wouldn't be that lucky. We'll see what happens next year when the other 7 are able to join in the fray. I'll have a lot of renaming to do once I know what sex they all are.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

I don't bother renaming them. Turns out Alice is a guy but Cooper is a girl but they still make a matched set called Alice Cooper :grin: my first metallics.

Certainly I would prefer an all male pond. I prefer the shape of the boys but that isn't going to happen here either. I believe hubby told me that rehoming GG would be grounds for divorce.

[clm]

Alice Cooper, that's too funny. I wasn't quite as imaginative. Mine are all named after the characters in I love Lucy and the Archies, I have Lucy, Ethel, Fred and Ricky....Archie, Reggie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead. Helps the hubby remember all their names too.

Cindy

[flywheel]

I don't name my fish, it kills them. I have put 30 new koi in the pond this last year and not lost a single one that made it through QT, all due to not naming them. I am certain it has nothing to do with all the things I was doing wrong before that I lost fish, it's because fish with names die.:frisbee:
Back to kohakus, I have about 6 or 7 in my pond, 2 of them are in my top 10, a doitsu and a four step. I like and dislike certain individuals of each variety. I don't think a pond would be complete without at least one kohaku. I find it hard to say I prefer one type over another, all I can think of is a pond filled with showas or sankes or kohakus or whatever type you want would be boring. I want some of everything.

[Jackie Ramo]

Flywheel, I've named fish since I was a wee tyke and not one of them died from it. A lot died from other causes but not from the weird names I gave them. I think this not naming myth comes from the undisputed fact that if you neglect your fish mom nature will take your favourite one first.

Cindy, my wakins are named Lucy, Fred and Ricky, no Ehtel yet.

[flywheel]

Actually my kids always name their bettas, we've had Elvis, Garth, Beavis, Felipe and a couple other goofy ones.

[marla]

My husband has named all the koi, he must have been hungry, there's...Salsa, Taco, Cracker, Peaches, Lemon head (or $20 fish) and to wash it down, Corona :lol: The shubunkins he named Jellybean and Rasinete, and then the male is Pretty Boy, doesn't quite fit.

[Jackie Ramo]

I find it hard to say I prefer one type over another, all I can think of is a pond filled with showas or sankes or kohakus or whatever type you want would be boring. I want some of everything.

Actually I saw show tanks for the first time this year and the fish looked wonderful separated into their groups. Like you I thought that it would be boring but found each was so different it made you appreciate that type more. With them grouped like that one could see why each type had its own fan club. My solution likeyours, one of each.

[dcny]

A couple more terms when talking about kohaku

Ojime - the gap between the hi marking on the peduncle and the start of the tail fin.

Moyo - opposite of dan, continuous pattern or single stepped pattern.

Shimi - a small black spot. Often these are superficial spots in the layer on top of the scale and can be removed.

Tobi Hi - a small red spot that is isolated from the main pattern.

Mado aki - a window in a hi step

[Jackie Ramo]

WEll I know what Shimmi is, my cute kohaku has formed 3 in two days... oh well she's still cute.

Never understood the term 'windows' I like to look through them :frisbee:

[dcny]

. . .
Never understood the term 'windows' I like to look through them :frisbee:

These can be considered windows.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/dcny/genki/ikeage06/65cmShowQuality3yr.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

OK, where the solid colour has broken and you can "see" through to the white below. Thanks

[dcny]

OK, where the solid colour has broken and you can "see" through to the white below. Thanks

Yeah, usually you only hear about windows in hi plates. I'm not really sure why that is. It may be that sumi doesn't really form plates like the hi patterns on kohaku. Sumi on showa and shiro utsuri wrap around a fish so to have some areas of of white around and within the sumi is normal. I don't know.

Even with the windows, that's still a pretty nice fish though. :grin:

-Dan

[Jackie Ramo]

It is a pretty fish. If the windows were open wider would it still be a window or would it move up to be a proper marking?

[dcny]

It is a pretty fish. If the windows were open wider would it still be a window or would it move up to be a proper marking?
It would just be a bigger window. :grin:

However, if the window ever stretched out on either side and bet up with the rest of the shiroji, then it would be part of the pattern.

[Jackie Ramo]

Thanks Dan. If the window becomes a door to the shiroji it is considered part of the pattern. That makes sense, well to me anyway :smile: I finally understand windows and have moved up to doors.

[dcny]

Some recent pictures

[dcny]

Here's are a couple of diagrams to help illustrate the kiwa and sashi terms...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/dcny/koishack/kiwa.gif

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/dcny/koishack/sashi.jpg

[Terri]

Thank you Dan, pictures are worth more than words in some cases... and this is one of them :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

So is one of these more desired than another? I don't think I've seen Kamisori but then I may not have been looking carefully.

[dcny]

Often you get a mixture of the two types of kiwa. There's a term for that too but I forgot it.

I think both are considered good and more of a matter of taste. Personally, I like maruzome kiwa.

The important thing is that the kiwa is sharp regardless of the type. Kiwa should not be blurry.

[Jackie Ramo]

Thanks Dan. I imagine that Sashi would be most common, can't check it on my fish as they are under ice as of last night.

[flywheel]

I have a red and white koi that I'm not sure if it's actually a kohaku. It's either a kikisui-metallic doistu kohaku or a doitsu hariwake-metallic white with red,orange, or yellow markings. I suppose it fits into either class, but how do you decide what it is? Because of the size and location of the red I think it's doitsu hariwake not kikisui.

[Terri]

I think you're right, hariwake is my vote. :)

[dcny]

Here's another diagram - Fukurin.

Fukurin is the upper layer of skin around a scale. Fukurin also grows over the scale. There are two classes of fukurin - fukurin that just grows over the scale and fukurin that grows over other fukurin.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/dcny/koishack/fukurin.gif

[Jackie Ramo]

Dan is there a preferred type of furkin?

[dcny]

Type 2, the thicker the better.

You've probably heard the term that good beni looks thick like multiple layers of paint. Well that's a great analogy because color can be found in all layers of the skin. In the upper layer of skin above the scale, in the layer of skin containing the scale and in the lower layer of skin below the scale. When you have hi multiple layers that's when you see what is referred to as thick beni.

Note that the diagram is not drawn to scale, no pun intended. I don't know how think the different layers of skin are in relation to each other.

[Jackie Ramo]

And to think I worried when the scale started to disappear. :roll:

I find it interesting that old Tweet who has no furkin is starting to turn metallic at 16 years old... Even ugly old GG has golden glints now, maybe its something in the water for old fish to turn this way.

[Dewi]

What an interesting thread, perhaps I should have asked someone to look at fingers before I bought it. :frisbee:

Tell me isn't it more difficult to categorize Koi when they are very small say1,1/2--2 ins,

For me the joy has always been in watching them develop, so I have always bought very small Koi,
Because of ti I look at some of my koi and smile, the others Hmmmmmmmm!

They might not all be as well dressed as they should be, But they all have character and are a joy for my family, who will site by the pond this summer and watch them as they would their favourite TV programe :-)

PS, Black and white are my favourite too. :grin:

[Dewi]

oops!!! Also meant to say, Kohaku are not the only variety, so why has this thread suddenly dried up, Its an excellent thread for us amateur enthusiasts, so come on, whats next?? :frisbee: