Journal 12 - Rashomon and other stories

The story I read during my winter break is Yam Gruel. It's about an old samurai, named Goi, who is very spiritless. People would tease him, say bad things about him and also do practical jokes on him.  Goi would barely respond and the response would also be as sad and spiritless as he is. However, there is one thing he wanted in life, to satisfy himself with yam gruel. He only gets a tiny amount every year at a banquet. This year, he asked for more yam gruel and was joked on. However, Goi got a offer from Toshihito, the son of the finance minister to satisfy himself with yam gruel. He traveled with Toshihito to Tsuruga, where he was treated with yam gruel. After his wish was satisfied, he returned to the spiritless old man he is. The setting is in Japan and in old times. The main characters are just those pointed out above. There is also a fox, which could be one of the main characters as it delivers the message of Toshihito to Tsuruga. The author was trying to say things like, "Don't crave for something or you might get too much of it" and "it is hard to satisfy man." It was a good and informative story but the way it is written is confusing.