Description

Kohaku Koi (kōhaku meaning “red and white”) or Red & White Koi is a variety of ornamental koi (carp). The Kohaku Koi has a white body, with red markings, or across the body. The Kohaku Koi is one of the gosanke ‘big three’ consisting of Kohaku Koi, Sanke Koi, and Showa Koi.

The Kohaku Koi breed is believed to be one of the first ornamental carp varieties developed. The variety dates to 1888, when a man named Kunizo Hiroi bred a red-headed female koi with one of his own males, whose markings resembled cherry blossoms, thus creating the now extinct Gosuke bloodline from which all of the known Kohaku bloodlines established (Tomoin, Sensuke, Yagozen, Manzo). Today, the Tomoin and Yagozen are the two remaining major Kohaku bloodlines in Japan.