The History of Sanke:
In 1914 white koi with red and black markings appeared in a brood of Kohaku belonging to Niigata rice farmer Heitaro Sato. In 1917, Mr Hoshino crossed one of these female Kuhaku with a Shiro Bekko and the resulting fry showed the three characteristic Sanke colours in more or less equal proportions, with added sumi stripes on their pectural fins.
Sanke Identification:
A Sanke is essentially a kohaku with Bekko-type sumi, which should not extend below the lateral line. As with Kohaku, the ideal skin is snow-white.
Koi Definitions:
Sanke - 'Three colour' ~ White koi with red and black markings
Aka Sanke - Koi with large areas of red, unrelieved by cuts in the pattern
Kuchibeni - Red lips literally 'lipstick'
Go Sanke - Koi from the Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa classes
Shimi - Undesirable individual dark brown or black scales on areas of ground colour |
