夏宵金魚集｜水面に揺れる錦の命

About 夏宵金魚集｜水面に揺れる錦の命

On a summer evening, under the lights of a festival, the water's surface ripples faintly.

Goldfish—

These small, brocade lives, born in Edo, crossed the sea from China during the Muromachi period and flourished in the city.

This app allows you to easily and carefully appreciate the profound worldview of Japanese goldfish and the history behind it.

Ryukin, Demekin, Ranchu, Tosakin, Wakin—
A multitude of varieties refined over generations by Edo craftsmen.

Each one has a name, a form, and the aesthetic sense of the craftsman embodied within.

Goldfish are not merely ornamental fish.

The spread of their tail fins, the roundness of their bodies, the overlapping colors—
All of these are the crystallization of the Japanese people's unspoken desire to "create something beautiful."

You gently reach out your hand to the water's surface.

The shadows of the brocade sway, and one leaps with a splash.

In that single moment, centuries of skill and passion are condensed.

Your fingertips scoop up a single goldfish from the water's surface.

What kind of goldfish appears is unique to that moment.

A Ryukin, a Demekin, or a Ranchu—

The more you collect, the more you see the profound beauty of goldfish.

Even today, goldfish scooping stalls line the streets at summer festivals.

In Yamato-Koriyama, goldfish swim throughout the town, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicted them as if they were people.

To touch the origins of this culture is to touch the Japanese aesthetic.

The life of brocade swaying on the water's surface—

Feel its beauty and elegance from your fingertips.