Highlights from tonight's online koi release
All the koi in tonight’s release are tosai (one-year-old koi), offering hobbyists an exciting opportunity to grow and develop them in their own ponds. The collection includes a special range sourced from Yagengi’s final tosai selections, along with stunning Go Sanke from Marudo and Marusei, striking Doitsu Go Sanke, and some sparkling Ginrin Go Sanke from Shinoda.
In this blog, I’d like to highlight a few of the standout koi from the Yagengi selection and share what makes them so special.
Kinsui (metallic shusui), Yagengi
The Kinsui is a particularly rare variety of koi, making it a unique opportunity for any collector who enjoys showcasing a wide range of varieties in their pond.
From a technical perspective, this Kinsui is excellent. The first thing I always assess in metallic koi is lustre—and this fish has it in abundance. Its sheen gives it a strong presence in the pond, enhancing its visual impact.
Equally important are its colour and pattern, which are both very good for this variety. The pattern follows a clean, linear arrangement, just as you would expect from a high-quality Shusui lineage, but with the added metallic brilliance that makes this Kinsui so striking.
Tancho (Kohaku), Yagenji
A good Tancho Kohaku tosai is heavily influenced by the quality of its tancho marking, and this wonderful tosai from Yagenji is a really good example. The red circle marking on the head should be perfectly balanced—round, clean-edged, and positioned neatly between the eyes without spilling over onto the nose, cheeks, or shoulders. This tosai ticks that box well, and the beni (red) colour is strong and importantly, consistent with no weak spots or fading. The edges (kiwa) are sharp, which is also a promising sign.
As with all koi the body quality is very important and on a Tancho, much of the koi is the background skin colour so that too has to be excellent. This tosai has a bright white and good quality skin. You can see the potential in the slightly thicker section of skin on the head, where the gill plates attach to the top of the head.
The head is broad between the eyes, and the shoulder area is strong. Combined with the good tancho spot, excellent skin, the combination of each aspect points towards great potential.
Goshiki, Yagenji.
Four wonderful goshiki tosai from Yagengi, all showing a harmony between a Kohaku-style beni (red) pattern, the black/blue robing developing on the white area. Even though tosai are still developing, you can already see signs of future quality.
The beni (red) patterns on all 4 are strong, even, and with thick beni. There are a range of pattern styles in this group, and all show balanced Kohaku-style patterns with three of them having stepped beni (red) pattern markings that fit the body well and one of them, the two step, has pattern markings with curves and cut ins that add to the interest.
The robing is appearing on the white areas, leaving the beni (red) to appear as if it's floating, which is one of the most desirable features of a goshiki. Those balance of colours, particularly once the robing fully develops and becomes darker, creates the hallmark colour contrast that Goshiki is famous for—deep hi framed by robing on bright white body. In good tosai like these, you can already see this balance emerging, even if the full effect will only mature over the next few years.
All four of these Goshiki would make excellent additions to any pond. And offer years of enjoyment, watching the robing develop.
Kikisui, Yagenji
What a koi! The pattern on this Kikisui is outstanding—bold, balanced, and eye-catching from every angle. The colours are vivid and clean, and the body is strong and well-shaped, which is less common in Doitsu varieties and makes this fish all the more special. On top of that, the lustre is excellent, giving it a radiant finish that really enhances its impact. A superb example of the variety.
Final thoughts
We don't expect any of these koi to hang around for long once they are released onto the website! We have preview videos of all these koi on this website blog.
And from 8pm tonight, Friday 22nd August, you will be able to see all the new koi listed on the website right here: byerkoifarm.co.uk – Koi for Sale
(This link sorts the newest koi appear at the top of the page for your convenience.)
