If you are reading this, we can assume that you are a koi enthusiast. It doesn't take very long after becoming interested in koi to find out there are many different koi types, koi varieties and even variations of the same variety within the koi family of fish. It can be very confusing, even for someone who has been keeping koi for years, but especially for people who have recently developed an interest in koi. A lot of information is available about the different koi varieties in books, magazines and various websites on the Internet. However, during my twelve years of researching koi I have yet to find one source that is very extensive. Most of the koi identification books and Internet web sites I've encountered list the koi by classification and or variety with only one picture of each. This is not enough for a novice since there can be quite a few variations of pattern within the same class of koi. On this web site you will be able to see multiple examples of many of the different varieties.

Koi have Japanese names, and rightly so, since the Japanese did the work developing the different varieties. On this web site I have included a glossary of the Japanese names of the varieties and a brief explanation of each one. All of the blue high-lighted words are connected to a wave file so you can hear the words pronounced correctly. Once you learn what the names mean you will begin to understand why they were given those names. You will also be better able to determine what class and variety a koi should be placed in by the characteristics of its color, pattern and type of or lack of scales.

Since 1994 I've been collecting and saving information and pictures of koi to help me learn about these beautiful fish. I decided to consolidate all the pictures into one file to make the information available and easy to find on a single web site. During this process I thought there may be others that would like to have the information and pictures I've collected.

I published this site in November 2002.  Since then I've been to Japan three times and will be returning the end of March, 2010.  The photo at the top of this page was taken by Martin De Jong at the Toshio Sakai harvest in Niigata, October 2006.  The second guy from the left with the beard and arms folded is me.

Sincerely,

Gene Winstead
Koi Village