Top Groups of Koi Types
When there are over 100 varieties in Koi, it is not easy to learn all of them one by one. It is easier to study the groups before you go into details of each variety. Here are the 9 main groups of Koi.
Gosanke – Gosanke means Kohaku, Sanke and Showa. Gosanke in Japanese means the 3 most popular things within any group. Kohaku, Sanke and Showa are definitely the focal varieties of Koi. you can tell from the fact that grand champions of Koi shows always come from Gosanke group
Utsurimono – This includes Shiro Utsuri, Hi Utsuri, Ki Utsuri and even Showa. These are basically black based Koi.
Mujimono – The group of Mujimono or in short Muji means plain Koi. Koi such as Chagoi and Soragoi fall into this category.
Hikarimono – Hikarimono means metallic Koi. Please be careful it is different from Ginrin. Hikarimono can be divided into 3 sub groups.
4-a One is Hikari-moyo. It is a metallic Koi with patterns such as Kujyaku.
4-b The next one is Hikari Utsuri. It is a metallic version of Utsurimono. Kin Ki Utsuri, Gin Shiro Utsuri, Kin Showa fall into this group.
4-c The last one is Hikari Muji. We learned Muji is a plain Koi. So Hikari Muji is metallic version of Mujimono. Ogon and Platinum are good examples.
Kawarimono – Kawarimono in Japanese means oddballs. So in Koi, Kawarimono basically includes most of the varieties that do not belong to the other groups.
Ginrin – Ginrin means silver scales. So Ginrin varieties are Koi that have glittering scales like diamond. Please be careful that ginrin is different from Hikarimono or metallic Koi.
Doitsu – Doitsu Koi are scaleless Koi. It was developed by crossing scaleless food carp with Japanese Koi over 100 years ago. Doitsu means Germany in Japanese. It is because these scaleless carp were originally imported from Germany.
Hirenaga / Butterfly – Hirenaga are the ones with long fins. They are also called butterfly Koi. It is not so popular in Japan, but it is very popular in Europe and in the US.
Tancho – Tancho is any variety of Koi whose only pattern is a round spot on its head. The marking reminds us of Japanese flag. This is a very popular group. Please remember if you see other markings on the rest of the Koi body, the Koi is not called Tancho.