Aka Matsuba
Aka Matsuba are a red Koi with a black net pattern. When buying a Aka Matsuba, make sure that the net pattern is equal all over the Koi. Watch out for any discolored scales or old scars. The Hi should be very deep too.

Asagi
Asagi are fairly classical from a genealogical point of view. They usually have blue on the entire back and Hi on the belly, pectoral fins and gill covers. The scales on the back have whitish base and thus collectively give an appearance of meshes of a net. The important viewing points are conspicuously vivid appearance of the meshes and light blue, spotless head region. However, as they age, black spots often appear in the head region and Hi on the belly tend to climb up reaching as far as the back.

Bekko
There are three types of Bekko; the Aka (red) Bekko, the Shiro (white) Bekko, and the Ki (yellow) Bekko.
The Bekko has a simple stepping stone pattern of sumi (black) running down it's back set against a red, white or yellow background.

Benigoi
Benigoi or Higoi are Koi that are solid red. When buying a Benigoi, look for solid Hi. Check the fish over for any old scars or bad scales, for these will take away from the look of the Koi.

Chagoi
A common misconception is that finding high quality Chagoi is an easy task. Contrarily to belief, like all other varieties, Chagoi also have their own stringent criteria. First it must have a perfect body confirmation along with perfect scale alignment and defining fukurin. Scales must also have good articulation, color uniformity without any blemishes. In addition, Chagoi also must have the potential to attain jumbo size, that is over 30 inches while meeting all the above criteria isn't that easily found. Finally, due to its simplicity in its pattern, Chagoi must make up in size to convey an imposing regal impression.

Gin Matsuba
This category includes all Koi with shiny body but devoid of any markings. Hikari-muji are divided into "Yamabuki Ogon (with pure yellow, metallic sheen on the entire body)," "Platinum Ogon (with shining platinum color)," "Orange Ogon (with orange sheen)," "Kin Matsuba (literally 'golden pine needles,' for individual, glittering scales appearing like raised markings)", and "Gin Matsuba (literally 'silvery pine needles,' for glittering scales on the platinum ground which look like raised markings)," etc. As they don't have any markings, the condition of luster and body conformation become the essential points for appreciation of Hikari-muji group. Excellent luster is the one which covers the whole body evenly. Generally, Koi of Hikari-muji group readily get used to humans. With hearty appetite, they tend to grow over-sized bellies. However, good shape body, covering from the head to breast and abdomen.

Goshiki
Goshiki are said to have been crossbred between Asagi and Taisho Sanshoku -- not yet an established theory, however. They also form a very tasteful variety of Nishikigoi. Goshiki used to be included in the Kawarimono group. However, with recent production of fairly excellent Goshiki, they are now being treated as an independent variety at Nishikigoi shows. Their red markings are similar in patterns to Kohaku, but may not be taken as seriously. Some scales of Asagi may also appear in the red markings. The meshes appearing only on the white ground will, on the other hand, contrast strikingly with mesh less Hi.

Hariwake
Hikarimono Muji that have a metallic white ground with yellow to red patterns. As the variety was developed, the pattern came in all shades between yellow and red, but Koi with good red patterns became a separate variety called Kikusui which is basically a metallic Kohaku. Originally, the word refered to the contrast of gold and platinum.

Karasugoi
Karasugoi are Koi that are solid black. When buying a Karasugoi, look for one with deep color. Check the fish over for any old scars or bad scales, for these will take away from the look of the Koi. Karasu or Karasugoi (kah' rah sue or kah' rah sue goy) Means "The crow" or black Nishikigoi with no white.

Kigoi
Kigoi are Koi that are solid yellow. The most prized Kigoi have red eyes. This gives them an eerie look. Some people call the Kigoi, Lemon Koi.

Kikusui
Kikusui (kee coo' swee) are a scale-less version of a Hariwake. Look for one with a nice Kohaku pattern that has nice sharp edges and very white skin. A Kikusui's pattern is judged the same way as a Kohaku's is. Doitsu Platinum Koi with a Hi pattern, means "a Chrysanthemum in water", is the same as a Doitsu Hariwake with red markings or a metallic Doitsu Kohaku

Kin Hi Utsuri
Kin Hi Utsuri are arguably the most successful Hikariutsuri. The red in good specimens is bright crimson, and while the sumi may be toned down, this does mean that any shimis - normally the plague of Hi Utsuri - are less obvious. The pectoral fins - candy-striped black and white with a golden overlay - can practically glow. Head sumi is not generally as well defined as in Shiro Utsuri, and dark nostrils on an otherwise all-red head are a common fault.

Kin Showa
All metallic Showa are known as Kin Showa. The metallic luster should appear strong throughout the entire body of the koi. All the key Showa elements should be there as well, such as wraparound sumi, motoguro in the pectoral fins, and the classic intrusion of an interesting black pattern onto the head. Hi and sumi should be as strong and well placed toward the rear of the body as in the area ahead of the dorsal fin, and there must be no congenital deformities. Ideally, the hi should be crimson as with regular Showa, but it is typically more brownish, reminiscent of that on nonmetallic Showa when they were first developed. However, Showa sumi is particularly strong and can usually hold its own against the toning down effect of the metallic skin. Metallic Kindai Showa (those with lots of white patterning) are particularly striking.

Kohaku
The Kohaku is the most popular variety of Nishikigoi. So much so that there is an expression, "Koi avocation begins and ends with Kohaku." There are various tones of "red" color - red with thick crimson, light red, highly homogeneous red, blurred red, and so on. There are all sorts of "Kiwa (the edge of the pattern)" -scale-wide Kiwa, razor-sharp Kiwa, and Kiwa resembling the edge of a torn blanket, etc. Shades of white ground (skin) are quite diversified too -- skin with soft shade of fresh-unshelled, hardboiled egg, skin with hard shade of porcelain, yellowish skin, and so forth.

Koromo
Koromo, meaning "robed" in Japanese, describes a group of koi whose quiet elegance finds favor with connoisseurs, even though this breed of koi did not become available until the early 1950s. Koromo are crossbred fish; the first example resulted from a spawning between a male Kohaku and a female Narumi Asagi. The collective name "Koromo" covers several varieties, the best known being Ai Goromo.

Kujaku
The Kujaku is a metallic or Ogon koi with the reticulated net-like pattern of the Asagi on its back. This is overlaid with either a gold, yellow, orange or red Kohaku-type pattern creating a striking effect.

Kumonryu
The Kumonryu is a Doitsu (German) koi that has a jet black pattern that emerges like billowing black clouds against a white background. The black pattern is variable and unstable, disappearing with changes in the water temperature, reappearing sometimes as a completely different pattern.

Ochiba Shigure
Bluish-gray koi with brown markings and a distinctive fishnet scale pattern. "Ochiba Shigure" means "leaves on the water" in Japanese. This variety has become very popular in recent years.

Ogon
The translation of the name Hikarimono can be broken up into two words; Hikari, meaning "shining" in Japanese, and mono, meaning "ones". The koi most commonly associated with this group are Ogon (formerly spelled Ohgon), but the classification also takes in metallic Matsuba. In 1921, a Magoi with a gold- striped back was caught from a river in Takezawa, Yamakoshi prefecture, by Sawata Aoki. Fascinated by this unusual carp, he and his son Hideyoshi embarked on a process of selective breeding, keeping back only those fish that showed some golden scalation. After four of five generations, Aoki succeeded in producing the forerunners of the Ogon - Ginbo and Kinbo, along with Kin Kabuto and Gin Kabuto. The latter had silver edges to their dark scales and a characteristic helmet- shaped head marking, rather like that found on today's ghost koi. All four types are still thrown in spawnings today, but are considered valueless. Aoki spawned the first true Ogon in 1946, the result of a union between a female Shiro Muji and eight males from his 25-year breeding program.

Platinum
Platinum Ogon, or Purachina, are white koi whose body shines with the same luster as the precious metal. These first appeared in 1963, probably from out crossing Kigoi with the grayish-silver Nezu (short for the Japanese word for rat, nezumi) Ogon - which remains a variety in its own right. At about the same time, the Cream Ogon became popular. This is a metallic koi, midway between a Purachina and a Yamabuki Ogon. Examples of this breed are very rare.

Sanke
Also known as Taisho Sanke, or often simply abbreviated to Sanke, the taisho sanshoku is genetically a white koi with red and black markings. It is named for the time in which it was developed, the Taisho period in Japanese history. The body appears primarily white, and the colors that sit on the white should be in a spotted formation rather than banded, and there should be no black on the face.

Shiro Utsuri
The Shiro Utsuri, or "white" Utsuri, is a jet black fish with white markings. "Utsuri" means "reflections" in Japanese, and the pattern of a good Utsuri should be roughly inverted across the fish's back, almost like a checkerboard.

Showa Sanshoku
Short for Showa Sanshoku or Showa Sanke, a black Koi with red and white patches named for its development in the Showa era. Whereas Kohaku and Taisho Sanshoku have red and/ or black markings on the white ground, Showa Sanshoku have red markings on white patterns formed on the black background. We have discerned such different arrangement by observing the processes of fry development. Kohaku and Taisho Sanshoku are almost completely white when freshly hatched. Young fry of Showa varieties (including Showa Sanshoku, Shiro Utsuri and Hi Utsuri, etc.), on the other hand, are almost completely black when just emerged from eggs. As days go by, white patterns become visible against the black background, and red markings will soon appear on the white patterns. We should, therefore, say that Showa Sanshoku have black texture.

Shusui
Shusui have been crossbred between Doitsu Koi and Asagi, and their points for appreciation, therefore, are basically the same as those for Asagi. Shusui also have the tendency to show black spots in the head region as they grow big. Koi with spotless head region are valued highly, of course. The arrangement of scales is also important. It is desirable that scales are visible only the back and the regions of lateral lines -- no undesirable scales in any other place. Hi on the belly covering over the lateral lines are showy.

Tancho
Koi with a red head patch are called "Tancho." Most common are "Tancho Kohaku (all-white Koi with Tancho)," "Tancho Sanshoku (white Koi with Sumi similar to Shiro Bekko, and with Tancho)," and "Tancho Showa (Showa Sanshoku without red markings except for Tancho)," etc. However, "Tancho Goshiki (Koi of five colors with Tancho)," and "Tancho Hariwake" are rare. Tancho do not form a single, independent kind of Nishikigoi; they all can be bred from Kohaku, Taisho Sankshoku or Showa Sanshoku. Their red patch happen to show up only in the head region. Tancho, therefore, can not be produced in bulk even if you so wish. The essential point for appreciation is the red patch in the head region, of course. The red head patch sitting right at the center of the head region is the best. The white skin is also important as it is the milky white color that sets the red head patch off to advantage. The Sumi of Tancho Sanshoku and Tancho Showa are the same as Bekko and Shiro Utsuri respectively.

Yamato Nishiki
Metallic Taisho Sanshoku (Sanke). Yamato Nishiki are the metallic version of the Sanke. Their patterns are judged the same way that the regular Sanke are. Yamato Nishiki are created by breeding regular Sanke with Platinum Ogon.