Goldfish and Other Stories and Essays

A young woman returns home with goldfish, carrying a moment of beauty into a life shadowed by illness. A brother recognizes his own worst qualities in a child’s lies. A widow dismisses a strange light outside her house, only to discover that the night has brought a terrible loss.

These nine stories and essays bring together six Japanese writers. Suzuki Miekichi and Kajii Motojirō explore affection, shame, poverty, and wounded pride. Saitō Mokichi remembers the physician whose books first stirred his imagination. Hasegawa Shigure records a family ghost story, while Terada Torahiko describes the freedom, curiosity, and untidy habits behind his schoolroom learning.

The collection closes with Nogami Toyoichirō’s memory of Natsume Sōseki teaching Shakespeare: a crowded classroom, a pocket edition, and a student determined to catch every word. It also includes both supplied versions of Kajii’s “Misfortune” and his variation on a Kawabata story. The complete English translation preserves their differences, original endings, and historical details, with concise explanatory notes. AI-assisted translation.