Showa Sanshoku: The Drama of Three Colors
Walk past a pond of mixed koi and your eye stops on the Showa first. It's the boldest of the Gosanke — the three crown varieties of Nishikigoi — and the hardest to breed at a high level.
What is a Showa? Showa Sanshoku is a black koi (sumi base) overlaid with red (hi) and white (shiroji). Confusingly, it's classified as a black koi even though the white and red dominate the body visually.
What makes a great one?
• Sumi that is jet black, glossy, and wraps around the body — not just sits on top.
• Hi with sharp edges and an even, deep tone — no bleeding into the fins.
• Shiroji as bright and pure as fresh snow.
• Menware — the classic Showa head pattern: a lightning bolt of sumi splitting the face. A perfectly balanced menware is one of the most prized features in all of koi.
• Motoguro — solid black on the base of the pectoral fins. Without it, it's not a real Showa.
Lineages we follow. Dainichi and Sakai are two of the most respected Showa breeders in Japan. We hand-pick from both, looking for stable sumi that won't fade.
If you're considering a Showa for your collection, ask us about what's currently in stock. Showa develop dramatically over the first 3–4 years, so picking the right young fish is half the fun.
