Good as gold

Memories of childhood summers in Japan inevitably involve three things: fireworks, watermelon, and kingyo-sukui — the challenge of scooping up live goldfish with a paper ladle at a summer festival stall. Those goldfish carried proudly home never lived very long, and perhaps that's why the experience remains so keenly felt.

From left: With crimson tops contrasting regally against white, Tancho fish are named after the red-crowned crane; these Sarasa Ryukin specimens, of the Wakin variety, sport their calico look as a result of mutation. Their elegant tail fins sway in the water like oversized fans. | COURTESY OF KATEIGAHO INTERNATIONAL JAPAN EDITION
From left: With crimson tops contrasting regally against white, Tancho fish are named after the red-crowned crane; these Sarasa Ryukin specimens, of the Wakin variety, sport their calico look as a result of mutation. Their elegant tail fins sway in the water like oversized fans. | COURTESY OF KATEIGAHO INTERNATIONAL JAPAN EDITION