The marrying monster

Goro, a weary cooper living on the edge of a forest, longs for the comforting presence of a wife who can keep a home tidy and a pot of soup on the stove. One night, as fireflies dance among the trees, a gaunt, efficient woman steps from the shadows and offers exactly what he’s yearning for—cookery, cleaning, and endless devotion. Their swift marriage seems a blessing: meals appear on time, the house sparkles, and Goro finally feels a sense of belonging.

Soon the household’s bounty grows bewilderingly beyond what two people could possibly consume. Goro watches his new partner turn the kitchen into a relentless dumpling factory, filling pots with rice and bean paste at an astonishing rate. Curious and uneasy, he begins to investigate the source of her prodigious appetite, wondering if something more than ordinary human hunger is at work.