KINGYO: The Artistry of Japanese Goldfish

The fantastical Japanese goldfish gets a fitting homage in this thick, sumptuous gift book. First imported from China at the beginning of the 16th century, goldfish were kept and bred only by the aristocracy for some 300 years; in the 19th century, enthusiasm for goldfish swept through the rest of the country. In Kuru's vivid photographs, brilliant orange fish glow against pure white background, revealing strange, tumorous heads, bulging eyes or fins as delicate and diaphanous as silk scarves. Interspersed with photographs of shubunkin and ranchu are their images in art—on ceramic bowls, wooden buckets and delicate china plates, in textiles and watercolor paintings. Designer Takaoka gives some of the pages bright, geometric borders but otherwise keeps the layout spare and clean. Factual text is minimal—a short section in the back describes different breeds, but offers neither history of the hobby nor analysis of goldfish iconography—but Okamoto's novella, "A Riot of Goldfish," offers a complementary fiction, in which a confrontational young boy turns into a misanthropic, prematurely aged man as he tries to breed a goldfish that will remind him of the beautiful "inhuman siren" he loves. The audience for this gorgeous book may not be large, but it will no doubt be appreciative. (Oct.)