Kogi's Mysterious Journey

Japanese folk tales fall along many different themes, but one of them I've come across in the most often is the theme of the individual consumed by their art, or craft. Kogi's Mysteriouis Journey is a tale of this sort, about the painter Kogie and his determination to capture the life and beauty of the fish he sees in the lake. His "journey" is both outward and inward, discovering the seed of his art and how to master it. This lovely little book isn't going to be a classic on everyone's list, but I first picked it up for the stunning artwork, and I stayed for the story. Kogie is trying to paint the landscape of the lake where he lives and the life he can perceive upon it and within it, but every time he tries, something is missing from his work. When his fisherman friend, Basho, gives him a dead fish to draw, Kogi rapidly realizes he can't draw the essence of life from looking at a dying or dead creature. His need to draw the fish free and alive, sends him wading into the lake, and there he transforms magically into a huge golden carp. Trapped in fish form, Kogi spends days trying to find enough to eat, until despite his human intelligence, he bites a baited hook. Caught by his friend, Basho, Kogi finds himself dying in the air and sun, unable to cry out or tell his friend who he is. Ultimately he is sliced open by the fisherman's knife. Kogie wakes up in his own bed, as though it was all a dream. But this dream has put Kogi in touch with the true essence of being a fish, and now he can draw all kinds of life-like fish, so lively they leap off the paper and into the water to swim away. In the end, Kogi joins them once more as a great golden carp. The story shows how the artist becomes the art he creates, transformed by the pursuit. Anyone who has striven to paint or express a specific image is likely to understand Kogi's frustration at not being able to draw life in his fish. And to see Kogi discover the true essence of being a fish, from the glory to the dangers and death, provides a strange sort of satisfaction and beauty. I love this story, but it isn't a comfortable story and may not be one youi want to read to a young child, especially if you're fond of eating fish. The startling death of Kogi at the hands of the unknowing Basho was an unexpected turn in this story for me--I kept expecting Basho torecognize his friend somehow, or that Kogi will be spared magically at the last moment. But it is not that kind of story. Instead, the fish form of Kogi faces death, only to wake as a man again. The artwork for the death of Kogi, is not graphic in detail, but simply indicated by a dark splash of red paint on the otherwise dark page--it nevertheless conveys the violence of the death very well. This story is best for older children, who understand the kind of stories folk tales convey and can deal with the rather ambiguous messages presented in this book. The illustrations in this picture book bring everything together--they dem