'A profusion of goldfish') is a short story written by Japanese author Okamoto Kanoko in 1937.
This obsession with artistry is also seen in Okamoto's The Food Demon, in which the protagonist Besshiro strives to create the perfect culinary dish.
Okamoto utilizes the natural landscape of eastern Tokyo and the Kansai region to create stunning imagery.
The short story, set in early 20th-century Japan, follows the life of Mataichi, the adoptive son of a goldfish shop owner.
The story begins in media res, with Mataichi reflecting upon his life and his obsession with Masako.
Eventually, Masako fights back and throws a fistful of petals into Mataichi's face.
After graduating high school, Mataichi becomes a research student at a fisheries station in the Kansai region, with an emphasis on domesticated fish.
When Masako finally responds to his letters, she confesses that she is pregnant and engaged to be married soon.
After completing his field study, Mataichi focuses his entire energy on creating the perfect goldfish to mimic Masako's beauty.
Finally, dispirited by his failures, Mataichi ventures to the pond where he keeps his unwanted, culled goldfish.
During the financial crisis in Japan, Teizō loses most of his wealth and decides to pour his remaining resources into breeding and selling goldfish.
The protagonist Mataichi is a secular man consumed by his desire for the beautiful girl Masako and driven by his ambitions to breed elaborative goldfish.
Mataichi's trance is amazingly similar to meditation, a common Buddhist practice to empty the mind and enter a state of complete tranquility.
He is unsuccessful in his attempts of human manipulation of nature and the resulting goldfish are tossed into a small pond.
Eventually, Mataichi visits the small pond to discover that nature has created what humans could not: the ideal goldfish.
Sponsorship: Teizō sponsors Mataichi's secondary vocational education at a school in the Kansai region.
Due to the business' financial hardship, less money is give to Mataichi as he becomes more and more obsessed with creating the perfect goldfish.
Mirroring the beginning, he finds himself in a reclining position on the mud, but now he is overwhelmed by a sense of peace.
J. Keith Vincent, a professor of Japanese and comparative literature at Boston University, translated the novel into English.