{"product_id":"female-ginrin-kohaku-yagenji-koi-farm","title":"Ginrin Kohaku – Yagenji Koi Farm","description":"\u003cp\u003eFemale Ginrin Kohaku – Yagenji Koi Farm\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGinrin Kohaku is a Kohaku covered in reflective ginrin scales. At heart it is still the red-and-white koi that leads the Gosanke.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAbout the Kohaku\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eKohaku is the variety many keepers say the hobby begins and ends with. It is just a red pattern on a white body, and that simplicity is why it is so hard to breed well and why it is judged so strictly. Kohaku is the oldest established variety of the Gosanke, the 'big three' of Kohaku, Taisho Sanke and Showa. Like nearly all nishikigoi, its roots are in the mountain villages of Yamakoshi and Ojiya in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, where rice farmers first noticed and kept colored mutations of the black food carp (magoi) in the early 1800s. Red-and-white carp were being line-bred there by the 1880s. The Gosuke line developed by Kunizo Hiroi became the foundation of modern Kohaku, followed by famous bloodlines such as Tomoin, Yagozen, Sensuke, Manzo and Dainichi. A Kohaku has won the All Japan Koi Show's Grand Champion title more often than any other variety.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eColor and pattern\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe body should be pure, snow-white skin (shiroji) with no yellow or blemish. Over it sits a deep, even red (hi). Hi that leans toward orange-red is called beni, and a purple-red tone is prized in mature fish. The pattern is read from above. A balanced design starts on the head without spilling over the eyes, breaks across the back with interest, and ends cleanly before the tail joint (o-jime), leaving a white gap. Where the red meets the white, a crisp edge on the head side (sashi) and a sharp edge on the tail side (kiwa) show a high-quality fish. Fins should be white or nearly so.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGinrin scales\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGinrin ('silver scales') koi carry reflective crystals in their scales, so the body sparkles as the fish moves. On white or black areas the sparkle shows as silver (gin), and on red or yellow as gold (kin), which is why Japanese shows judge these koi together in the Kinginrin class. Ginrin comes in several forms: beta-gin, where the whole scale shines flat; kado-gin, where only the edge sparkles; pearl or tsubu-gin, a raised, pearl-like center; and the newer, very intense 'diamond' ginrin. Good ginrin covers the body evenly in neat rows and holds as the fish grows.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eIn your collection\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGosanke are the backbone of any serious collection and the varieties most judges and breeders measure everything else against. Their colors develop over years. Hi deepens and sumi surfaces and settles as the fish matures, so a young Gosanke is bought partly on its potential: skin quality, the thickness of the hi, and the body it is likely to grow into.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat collectors look for\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSnow-white skin that stays clean as the fish grows\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHi of even depth from head to tail, with no thin or faded spots\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSharp kiwa and tight sashi at the pattern edges\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA head pattern that frames the face, and a white break before the tail\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA strong, balanced body. Kohaku is judged on body before pattern\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEven sparkle across the body in neat, consistent rows\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSparkle on the sumi as well as the white and colored areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGinrin that does not hide the quality of the underlying colors\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Yagenji","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67312034021625,"sku":"YAGJ26021","price":1500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/8768\/8441\/files\/YAGJ26021_1669_Master_Transparent.png?v=1792149610","url":"https:\/\/www.koimarket.com\/products\/female-ginrin-kohaku-yagenji-koi-farm","provider":"Koi Market","version":"1.0","type":"link"}