Goshiki (五色 (Goshiki))
Five colours in one fish — a Kohaku pattern laid over an Asagi-like blue-grey ground.
Goshiki: Red markings over a ground that blends white, black, blue and grey reticulation.
| Pattern (JAS-aligned) | Red markings over a ground that blends white, black, blue and grey reticulation. |
|---|---|
| Colours | Red plus a smoky blue-grey ground that itself holds several tones — hence five colours. |
| How to tell it | Look beneath the red: if the white of a Kohaku is replaced by a netted grey-blue, you are looking at Goshiki. |
The variety in Japanese koi culture
Goshiki — literally five colours — is the connoisseur's puzzle: a fish that reads as Kohaku from a distance and as something far more complex up close. The ground between the red markings carries the blue-grey netting inherited from Asagi ancestry, so light, dark and intermediate grounds all exist and are named and prized differently at shows. Because the ground can darken as the fish grows, Goshiki are famous for changing character with age, and judging them means judging where the ground is heading, not only where it stands.
Keeping notes on this page are limited to generally published principles about the variety in Japan. This page gives no diagnosis, no treatment and no prescription for an individual pond or fish. For a fish that looks unwell, contact a veterinarian or your local fisheries office.
Sources: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA — summary in our own words, credit only); All Japan Nishikigoi Promotion Association official; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and Finance Ministry trade statistics as published; Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) for nishikigoi variety names and definitions (2022); Niigata Prefecture, Ojiya City, Nagaoka City (Yamakoshi) and Nishikigoi no Sato official; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) visitor statistics; USDA APHIS and Australian DAFF official import guidance. Checked 6 November 2026.