Ugly Duckling Koi
First
posted in the
Koi Blog
on August 31, 2005
I do enjoy reading stories about how a koi can change its
physical appearance significantly and turn into a totally
different-looking entity, just like a caterpillar
metamorphosing into a butterfly. No, I’m not even talking
about Kumonryu koi here, which have the ability to change
the black and white patterns of their body continually
over time. I am talking about the traditional koi
varieties seen in almost all koi storefronts.
Two articles always come to my mind when the discussion is
about koi that have magically transformed into virtually
new creatures of beauty. Both articles were written by
Joel Burkard of Pan Intercorp and posted in
www.koi.com.
The first article, entitled “The Flower that Bloomed
Twice”, talks about a Goshiki owned by Shigeketsu
Takahashi, which developed into “the spectacular koi
that took highest awards in its 9bu Goshiki class in the
22nd All Japan Show in January of 1990”, primarily
because of its stunningly beautiful red patterns. Much to
Mr. Takahashi’s dismay, however, his Goshiki’s red
markings later faded and disappeared altogether.
Imagine his surprise soon after, when the koi’s sumi
“had reestablished itself into a crisp reticulated pattern
against a now snow white field, prompting Mr. Takahashi to
enter it in the 24th All Japan Show where it took first
place 60bu Kawarimono.” Now who would imagine that
it’s possible for the same koi to win in two different
classes in the All Japan Show? A flower that bloomed twice
indeed.
The second article, entitled “The Evolution from Tategoi
to Show Koi", is about a Showa tategoi owned by Osamu
Matsuda. It describes how, within a span of just 12
months, this young koi “has grown from 6 inches to
over 16 inches, has taken first place in two very
competitive shows, and continues to show great promise as
a tategoi.” Reading this article is enough for me to
appreciate the joy of watching a tategoi Showa develop
into an exquisite champion - a privilege given to but a
few in real life.
There are many other stories like these, I’m sure. Still,
such phenomena are a rare sight to behold, and one should
consider himself extremely lucky if he’d get the chance to
own such koi. More often than not, our fully grown koi are
just larger versions of themselves when we bought them at
four inches long.
Much like the ugly duckling that eventually became a
gorgeous swan, these magical koi are to many of us just
fairy tale stuff read in books. But just like the ugly
duckling too, they occasionally spring to life in the real
world, giving us one more reason to smile …and live life
happily ever after.
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