Names
A tancho is a redspot on the top of the head. Any number of types could have a tancho marking and would be called a ‘ tancho that-type’. A fish called ‘tancho’ is white with a red spot on the head. To be a ‘perfect’ tancho the spot would need to be perfectly round, centred properly on the head, on a pure white body… and then there would be other qualifications, like in dog shows or horse shows, same thing, every enthusiast has it’s own list of desirable qualifications… You could have a ginrin tancho, or a ginrin tancho dragon, or a doits tancho utsuri, etc. One is for scale type, ( doits meaning no scales for eg), one is for the type of fish, eg ’sanke’, and then other descriptors if need be. For another example, ’sanke’ means black and red on a white body, but there are descriptors which translate to descriptions like : fall leaves floating on water, and 2, 3, and 4 step…
It’s confusing, I know. My boyfriend knows all the names and types but he was a geek and didn’t have a life before he met me. I still have trouble knowing a sanke from a showa. I give my fish personalized names like ‘bertha’ and ‘jumper’ so he knows which one i’m talking about. It’s a japanese creation so they can call it whatever they like, I suppose. Lord knows english feels like intruding where ever it wants to go… Besides, I don’t think it would be harmful to start expanding our knowledge of different asian language and customs… xoxk
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
