Showa, (sho-wa ), are three coloured koi first established during the Showa era in Japan. The base colour is black (sumi (soo me)) with white (shiro (she-row)) and red (beni/hi) patterning.
Showa
There are many variations within the appearance of the Showa variety only one has a separate description and that is the Kindai Showa. The Kindai Showa is regarded as a modern Showa and is different from the standard Koi by its much sparser amounts of red and black.
Many say there are technically no Showa bloodlines but most come from three famous lineages, the Sumi line of Dainichi of Niigata, Kobayashi and Takeda of Hiroshima.
As with any of the Go-Sanke varieties (The group of the three top varieties: Kohaku, Sanke and Showa) there are many Keito (traits) that the Koi display. For example Dainichi Showa sumi traditionally arrives in thick patches at a young age.
Amongst the many Showa breeders there are many combinations that are ueed to create Koi to the particular breeders preference. For example Sakuma uses a mixture of Kobayashi and Dainichi, whereas Oomo uses Dainichi and Takeda.
