Why this koi categorized as Showa ?

Would like to hear your views on why this koi is categorized as 'Showa' instead of 'Sanke' ? ( Because it appears in all way Sanke to me )

[goldfish&koi]

i think cos of the big batch of sumi colour go way down to the "lower part" of the body. but if it is a sanke it will not have the big batch of sumi that go way down to the "lower part" of the body....

Lower part mean from the back to the tummy below.

[Wilgan]

Think the main difference should be the underlying sumi. Basically Showa should be a black base koi with red and white on it while Sanke should be a white base koi with red and black on it. I'm not good in going into technical explanation. Maybe the gurus can help?

Was told my "Ginrin Sanke" should be a "Ginrin Showa" too. Think end of the day it's more important that the koi look appealing to you unless you are bringing them for competition...

Probably due to the black hidden colour at the nose.
Just my opinon.
Below is an article about showa

Showa is also a Kohaku koi type, that has a black pattern on top. They are in gosanke koi classification. Select showa must start with that perfect Kokaku. The word, Kohaku, sure comes up a lot.Take the perfect Kohaku and add the black in the right places and you have Showa. Showa is koi type with combination of a good Kohaku and a good Shiro Utsuri koi type. Showa go through many changes as they grow. Many times the black is very deep and only comes out as the fish grows. For this reason, if you see gray areas, it might not be poor quality white but deep black that will appear later.

The sumi on the showa should be strong. It should look like it emanates from the bottom of the fish and properly wrap the body. It is this wrapping of color that gives the Showa the look of strength. There is no more powerful fish than a good Showa. It has double power in the wrapping of red and black. It also has the high contrast of three colors. After the head, the rest of the sumi should be bold and balanced. Look closely at body conformation because of all the black. The black can hide defects in body, mouth and head.

Showa Head
The head of showa should have all 3 colors (red, black and white), preferably in equal mounts. The head on a Showa is very important. This time the head must have black on it. In fact it must have all three colors on it. The shoulder area of the showa should have all three colors and the Ozuke, tail region, should also have all three Best would be to have a good kohaku head with either a lightening stripe or a v-shape in black on the top of the head. Many showas don't develop this until later, so just try to pick one that has good red and white with some black coming out. Classic head patterns start with a good Kohaku face. Then black comes either down the face to divide it, or down the face and across the shoulder to form a Y.This is called Hachiware

Showa Body

Good Kohaku pattern in the body is good showa ,it should be balanced and be placed all through the body. if black is either present or coming up all over the body. Don't worry if the black is of poor quality at an early age. Black develops later in most good quality showa. It is also okay to have an orange-red at this point because the red gets better as the fish grows. Good showa body conformation is like kohaku koi type.
Pectoral Fins

Ideally Showa Koi , almost all of the pectoral fins, except for the outermost tips, should be black. As the pectoral fins grow out, the black seems to stay the same and the white area on the outside seems to spread out. If the pectoral fins are all black at this time, it is often alright, as this too can grow out to have good showa fins.
Fins that are not acceptable are fins with any red, all white fins, or fins with very little black at the base. All other fins should preferably be white, but some black is acceptable. Red is not acceptable in the fins. Pectoral fins should have Sumi at the base, up against the body. This is called Motoguru.

Ideally it should come out about one third of the pectoral length. Also the most perfect motoguru is surrounded by white. The front ray of the pectoral is white. The sumi does not go to the tip and the back ray is white. Strong motoguru is an indication that the sumi will be stable as the showa Koi grows. Dorsal fin is best in white as is the tail, but black in them can be fine. Avoid brush sumi pectorals, which looks more like stripes, or solid black pectorals. Even on young koi, the pectorals should start having the sumi pull back.

Some modern Showa have clear fins, as Kohakus are bred back in the crosses to righten the red. See you must get back to that perfect Kohaku always. Nose sumi also adds to the elegance of Showa and makes it more powerful.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, you have cleared my doubts.

So the bottom line is, if there is any sumi or sinking sumi on the koi head, no matter how insignificant, would then be labelled as 'Showa' ... ( This helps to explains Wilgan's koi picture as on top also ).

[Wilgan]

Think some sanke may have a little bit sumi on the head though. Correct me if I'm wrong. So may not be a good guide to say sumi on head will sure be a showa.

[Wilgan]

See below samples...


http://www.koi.com/detail-koi.php?koiid=1526



http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexpudduck/177738097/

Basically, a showa is nearly like a sanke but has sumi on the head.

Originally Posted by Wilgan

Think some sanke may have a little bit sumi on the head though. Correct me if I'm wrong. So may not be a good guide to say sumi on head will sure be a showa.

Bro.
You may read this article on Sanke.

In the older blood lines, sanke were bred to have striping in their pectoral fins. Referred to as tejima, this trait isn't nearly as common today. If you choose to purchase a fish possessing this trait, however, it's best to pick a fish that has it in both pectorals as opposed to one. Also, in an ideal world, the striping should not extend all the way to the edge of the pectoral. It's considered more desirable for them to be buffered by a white boundary. Most sankes today have pure white pectorals and it's best that no other color, such as red, be present.

Now comes the hard part - sumi placement and quality. Sumi is a very tricky thing, and it's made more complicated by the fact that it isn't as stable as red and white. What this means is that the sumi that you see on an 8" fish may be totally different on a 20" fish when it grows up. Also, on a young fish, you don't want all of the sumi to "be up," that is to say deep inky black in color. A young fish should have some ato sumi showing underneath the white skin. This sumi will come up, or develop, as the fish ages.
Hopefully, all three colors will peak at the same time somewhere in the fish's development. Unfortunately, this is almost impossible for us to predict, which means that your sanke may peak when it's two or when it ten years of age.

The placement of the sumi is of great importance as well. In an ideal world, the kohaku pattern of your sanke would have a white insertion on the koi's shoulder, and in that insertion would be a nicely sized and proportioned urushi sumi mark.

It is considered important that a sanke have a distinctive sumi mark on the shoulder. If there's no white insertion, then this will be a kasane sumi. In both cases, this shoulder placement is described as tsubo (strategically placed) sumi.
Hopefully there are no sumi markings on the head, but if there are, there's a good chance that they'll fade away as the fish matures. It's important not to give up on a sanke - they can take years and years to reach their full potential.The rest of the sumi on the fish should be balanced in their placement. Some say that a stepping stone pattern is best and it's hard to argue against that point of view.

Finally, the amount and size of the sumi markings varies from fish to fish with some having many and others having relatively few. Ultimately it becomes a matter of personal taste and preference, but no matter what kind of sanke style you finally choose, adding this variety of koi to your collection introduces a level of elegance to any pond

[Wilgan]

Hi Arofanic, thanks for the verification.

So it's possible for a Sanke to have Sumi on the head though it may be deem undesirable.