巴
ともえ

Translation: none; this is her name
Diet: omnivorous

Appearance: Tomoe is the name of a koi who fell in love with the fisherman who caught her. She lived in a pond called Naisuke ga fuchi in Kawachi Province (present-day Ōsaka Prefecture). She was named for a pattern in her scales that looked like a tomoe–a comma-like emblem used in heraldry.

Origin: Tomoe’s story is recorded in Saikaku shokoku banashi, a collection of stories published in 1685. The lake that she lived in was also known as Nairiso fuchi. It no longer exists, as it was drained for flood control infrastructure. Its former location is marked with a memorial stone.

Legends: Long ago, near the Neya River, there was a large pond called Naisuke ga fuchi. Naisuke ga fuchi was famous for never drying up and for its wonderful fish. A single house stood by the pond, belonging to a man named Naisuke. He had no wife or children. He made his living by fishing on the pond in his small boat.

One day Naisuke caught a female koi with a splendid appearance and brave demeanor which made it stand out among the rest of his catch. Day after day, all of the fish in his tank were sold except for the female koi. For some reason she was always left unsold. She had a tomoe-shaped pattern in her scales. Naisuke named the koi Tomoe, and he became quite attached her.

Over time, Naisuke grew more and more fond of Tomoe. And the koi seemed to like him back. She seemed to be able to understand her own name, reacting like a human when he called her. Sometimes he took her out of the holding pond and let her sleep by his side in the house. As time passed, Tomoe even learned to eat meals like a human.

Tomoe grew larger and larger ever year. Eighteen years after she was caught, she had grown to the size of a fourteen or fifteen year old girl. Naisuke had aged too; now an elderly man, he accepted a marriage offer from an older, unwed woman in his village.

Not long after Naisuke’s bride came to live with him, Naisuke went out fishing all night and left his wife was alone at home. A beautiful young woman wearing a light blue kimono covered in crashing waves barged into the house through the back door. She glared at Naisuke’s wife and said, “Naisuke and I have been together for years, and I am even carrying his child! Now you dare act like his bride? I cannot contain my hatred! Leave our home immediately! If you do not, in three days I will call a giant wave to wash this entire house into the pond!” Then she vanished.

When Naisuke returned home, his terrified wife told him what had happened. Naisuke said that he had no memory of such a person.

“A beautiful young lady like you describe would surely have no interest in a poor, old fisherman like me!” he laughed. “You must have dreamed her up!

The following night, Naisuke went out fishing again. Suddenly, the water became rough. The algae on the surface parted, and an enormous koi leapt up out of the pond and onto the boat. It opened its mouth and spat out something that looked like a human fetus. Then it slipped back below the water and disappeared.

Naisuke returned home in a panic. He rushed over to the holding pond where Tomoe lived, but she was nowhere to be found.

Naisuke’s story spread around town. The villagers all agreed that people really shouldn’t allow themselves to get so attached to their pets.