Highly colorful, Showa have a black background accented by strong, well defined red and white markings. The "great three" in Koi breeds (collectively called the Gosanke), are the Kohaku, the Taisho Sanke, and the Showa Sanshoku. We discussed the Kohaku and the Taisho Sanke in previous articles. Today we look at the third member of the great three, the Showa Sanshoku.
The word "Sanshoku" means "a fish with three colors," while "Showa" refers to the period during which this breed was developed, from 1926 to 1989. Showa koi are very similar in appearance to Sanke. Both types have red, black and white spots. Showa are black koi with white and red spots, while Sanke are white with red and black spots. This distinction is fairly obvious, even to the unpracticed eye, when the Showa has a great deal of black (sumi) coloring.
Recently a trend has developed toward Showa with a larger proportion of red and white color, making it more difficult to tell if the koi is a Showa or a Sanke. One of the more tell-tale distinguishing features of Showa is the appearance of black on the head of the koi. Black on the head of a Sanke is strongly disfavored. Ideally, the black marking on the head of the Showa extends all the way to the nose, and divides the underlying red into two areas. This black marking will sometimes look similar to a lighting strike.
Another distinctive characteristic of Showa Sanshoku is a black patch at the base of each pectoral fin. The Japanese call this pattern "motoguro." The most desired color pattern in Showa is a balance of red and white markings on a black background. As in other koi varieties, color should be clearly defined, with deep or intense hues and sharp edges. A balanced color pattern is very desirable. The individual pattern may be quite variable, of course. The three colors of red, black and white are often arranged in a more striped design than in Sanke. Also, the colors in Showa extend below the midline and sometimes all the way around the belly.
In Sanke, red and black markings are limited to the dorsal area above the midline.The original Showa pattern was developed in Japan in 1927 by crossing a Kohaku (red markings on a white background) and a Ki Utsuri (a rare koi with yellow stripes on a black background). Some of the offspring were three-colored, but many had black with white and dull yellow stripes. Showa were produced gradually over many years and many generations by selectively breeding the offspring with the most red color.
It is common for koi to change colors as they grow and mature, including Showa koi. The color may intensify, fade, or even disappear all together. We have seen this in our own koi breeding experiences. We received several lovely Showa one year from a friend. We had no idea at the time that they were Showa. They were only 3 inches long and were very dull fish showing no color. Fortunately our friend included a letter describing each fish, explaining that they were from good blood lines and warning us not to think little of them because of their poor color. How right he was! In two years they had transformed themselves into beautiful Showa koi. In a few years we had our first spawn. Most were orange, but a few were dark, dull specimens. Remembering how their parents had also been lackluster at first, I separated out the dull ones and placed them in a white bucket, leaving them for half an hour while I was called to the phone. When I returned, I saw that they had developed color patches. Their dark color cells had contracted because of the white background, allowing the underlying colors to be seen.
The Golden Orfe (pronounced “orf”) is a slender orange fish with silvery sides and a scattering of tiny black spots on the back. In its native habitat, the Danube River basin, it is a dark silvery color. The orange mutation that we call Golden Orfe was developed in Europe for ornamental purposes and has been a popular pool fish there for many years.
The bright orange color and constant movement make Golden Orfe an attractive addition to any size pool. They swim near the surface in a group and quickly learn to feed. Orfe are compatible with all varieties of pool fish and plants. Golden Orfe can grow to a length of 18" and reach a weight of three to four pounds. However, in garden pools they readily adapt to their environment and only reach maximum size in large pools and ponds.
World-famous Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia has a decorative pond with large Golden Orfe in it.
Orfe were introduced into the United States about 1880. Herman T. Wolfe, in his 1908 book Goldfish Breeds And Other Aquarium Fishes, said that they were being bred in fish ponds in Washington, D.C. This is consistent with the fact that starting in the 1870s the United States Fish Commission imported food fish from Europe, including several varieties of carp, tench, and presumably Golden Orfe. In 1878 they imported goldfish from the Orient and propagated them in the same ponds. Goldfish farming in the United States probably got its start from this introduction.
An interesting event involving Golden Orfe took place at our fish farm in 1942. The presidential retreat Shangri-La, now called Camp David, is a few miles from our farm in western Maryland. At that time my father had a roadside retail facility with a lily pond and vats of goldfish and other ornamental fish on display. One day an entourage of cars drove into his place of business and out stepped Winston Churchill. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was showing him around the area and Churchhill requested that they stop and look at the fish. My father said that Churchill immediately went to the vat of Golden Orfe and commented that he had larger ones in his lily pond at Chartwell, the Churchill family estate. Following that visit my father claimed that the fish in Churchill’s well-known painting, “The Goldfish Pool Chartwell,” were not goldfish but Golden Orfe.
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