The Carp that Came to My Dream

Long ago, around the time of Enchō, ²⁴⁸ there lived at the Mii temple ²⁴⁹ a priest by the name of Kōgi. Owing to his skill as an artist, his name was widely known, but instead of doing such subjects as Buddhist portraits, landscapes, or flower-and-bird studies, Kōgi ²⁵⁰ would go out on Lake Biwa in a small boat whenever he was free from temple duties and give money to the fishermen who worked with their nets ²⁵¹ in order that he could return the fish that they had caught into the water and sketch them while they leaped and played. As the years went by his paintings grew more and more exquisite. ²⁵² Once, after putting all his heart ²⁵³ into a drawing, he grew sleepy and dreamed of entering the water and swimming together with many fish. When he awoke Kōgi immediately painted what he had seen and put it on his wall, calling it, ‘The Carp That Came to My Dream.’