Artist's commentary
fish
Miss Nijika ate fish yesterday, but she didn't know it was me. In fact, I was that fish. I have lived in the sea since I was young, watching the waves roll and listening to the wind howl. Fishermen often come to fish on the sea surface, and I know what that means. Since I was a little fish, the older fish told me not to bite the hooks or get into the fishing nets. I was very scared, and the older fish said that some fish would be caught and immediately gutted, and I thought if it were me, I would definitely die. I was so afraid of death.
But one day, I heard from the fishermen something about "Nijika Angel" and "I really want to be Nijika's dog," but what is a dog? Is it a very powerful creature? I think it should be a shark. Then I saw a small pendant on the fisherman's clothes, with a girl wearing a big bow. Maybe that's Nijika. A fleeting glance, and I fell in love with that little thing. With my so-called 7-second memory, I kept her in my heart until I died. My longing and love for Nijika grew with my growth.
I heard that fish caught are going to be gutted, cut, split in half, put into hot oil, fried, roasted, and boiled! But being caught is also the only chance to meet humans. I am not afraid of death; I must meet Nijika. Finally, maybe after a year, those people, or maybe a new group, came to catch fish. I swam over without hesitation, for Nijika, for my love, for the one I love, although there are thousands of fish, I know I am just a negligible one. But this is my only chance, I want to meet her, I am not afraid of death. I never wanted to die, but for Nijika, as a fish in human hands, my end can only be a violent death.
I lay on the chopping board, and my companions were frantically flapping their tails, but I was obedient and motionless. A person came with a big knife and knocked me out, and I suddenly became a soul rising to the sky. My body is no longer in shape, I have never seen a fish become like this. In an instant, from the fishermen to the person who killed me, I forgot all their appearances. But her name, Nijika, was engraved in my soul. I was placed on that plate, looking golden, I don't know what my body has become. But at that moment, she appeared. She is Nijika, the one I have been thinking about, Nijika. When she picked up my body with a fork, my soul seemed to be shining. She put it in her mouth - my soul is no longer connected to my body, my soul has entered the sky, I saw the ridicule of my companions in the sea, the wailing of my elders, the crying of my companions, but I have no sadness, because only love is the most fulfilling pleasure and joy across species, across distances, and through time and space. As I savored all this, my soul began to fall rapidly from the sky to the plate. The soul is about to perish. The soul falling on the plate, before the last moment of dissipation, I saw the bright smile of Miss Nijika