In Search of the God-Demon and Other Stories
(Soshinki)

ENGLISH / Jeffrey Hunter

RUSSIAN / Andrey Zamilov

Kodansha(1980)

Tokuma Shoten(2000)(pb)

An expensive Matsusaka cow vanished from a cattle-house in the last minute before shipment. It was found that a stock-boy had made the cow disappear, but the question remained unanswered: How and why did the boy let a cow as heavy as700kg disappear? This is a story of a cow, which was raised and fattened for the dinner table, and a helpless boy, whose only friend was a black calf when he was growing up. --- So Gyu Ki "So (Emaciated)" - "Gyu (Cow)"-"Ki (Demon)"---Jukichi was a seasoned fisherman, who could control a rowing fishing boat with proficiency and catch fish in a traditional way. One day, he came across nameso, a sea beast, which was called the enemy of fishermen, and he loved this animal as much as other fish. He became sluggish at catching fish and opposed those fishermen who were trying to get rid of nameso. What would happen to the fate of the old fisherman, who had been on the sea for 80 years? --- Kai Ju Ki, "Kai (Sea)"-"Ju (Beast)"-"Ki (Demon)"---With its bright red pincers kept high above its head, a crab was slowly moving along the highway. Shinichi, a lonely boy whose only friend was a dog, called the crab "Aka," meaning red, and would protect the crab from the passing cars. He was trying hard to let Aka get back to the sea for the sake of his grandfather, who had lived a sad life. The laudable attempt of Shinichi attracted a lot of media attention, and a "Group to Protect the Crab, the Boy and the Dog" was set up. Would Shinichi and those who were with him be able to reach the sea? --- Yo Ju Ki "Yo (Supernatural)"-"Ju (Beast)"-"Ki (Demon)"---This title contains four stories, which Juko Nishimura wrote for a literary magazine from 1979 to 1980.