A FAMILY SUPPER

 

by KAZUO ISHIGURO

 

Fugu is a fish caught off the Pacific shores of Japan. The fish has held a

special significance for me ever since my mother died through eating one. The

poison resides in the sexual glands of the fish, inside two fragile bags. When

preparing the fish, these bags must be removed with caution, for any clumsiness

will result in the poison leaking into the veins.

 

Regrettably, it is not easy to tell whether or not this operation has been

carried out successfully. The proof is, as it were, in the eating.

 

Fugu poisoning is hideously painful and almost always fatal. If the fish has

been eaten during the evening, the victim is usually overtaken by pain during

his sleep. He rolls about in agony for a few hours and is dead by morning. The

fish became extremely popular in Japan after the war. Until stricter regulations

were imposed, it was all the rage to perform the hazardous gutting operation in

one's own kitchen, then to invite neighbours and friends round for the feast.

 

At the time of my mother's death, I was living in California. My relationship

with my parents had become somewhat strained around that period, and

consequently I did not learn of the circumstances surrounding her death until I

returned to Tokyo two years later. Apparently, my mother had always refused to

eat fugu, but on this particular occasion she had made an exception, having been