Image with courtesy and thanks , Mark Gardner http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/

I would've gone with doits sanke......or is that what you are expecting us all to say?

I would also say it is a Doitsu Sanke. However, this fish won the price for best in variety (Kumonryu) at last week's All Japan Koi Show.

Maybe somebody can explain why this is not a Doitsu Sanke.

Hi,

The only thing that could make this a Beni Kumonryu is that its mouth inside is black, as Kumonryu and Showa are actually black Koi.

What is interesting is that there is no black present on the white part of the body!

Yes Pieter, very valid comment.

If the mouth inside is black, it might even qualify for doitsu showa????, especially in view of the fact that there are sumi on the head.

However, it has the typical Sanke features.

I notice that there are no sumi stripes in the pectoral fins which you could expect from a Doitsu Sanke.

I think this one must have caused some doubt amongst the benchers at the show.

I think I commented when I posted the pic on my site that i couldn't understand why there were 2 Doitsu Sanke in the winners until the sign went up saying Kumonryu.

With regards to benchers, there are no such thing at the All Japan Show or, to the best of my knowledge, any show in Japan. All Koi are pre entered by their owners/represntative dealer/breeder.

The judges clearly accepted that the Koi was entered in the right class and judged it accordingly.

Hi Mark, thanks for that info. If the benching is left to the owner here in SA, a lot of fish would be disqualified by the judges as being in the wrong category. Especially in the Tancho category. The hi on a lot of Tancho's around here extend into the scaled area for instance and nowadays, it is often very difficult to bench the borderline Showa/Sanke.

Anyway, congratulations on the stunning photos and great coverage you posted/gave on the All Japan Koi Show. It is really a pleasure browsing through your blog which I do on a regular basis.