Ancient Japanese Mythology: Catfish Cause Earthquakes - 16 Beautiful Woodblock Prints

In ancient Japanese folklore, it has been said that catfish are the causes of earthquakes. In modern science, scientists study the reaction of catfish prior to earthquakes. It seems that there is a correlation as recent studies done at Japanese universities have shown.

Catfish and prostitutes drinking and partying in Tokyo's red light district in Yoshiwara 

Wikipedia has a good and simple explanation of how catfish (Namazu) fit into Japanese mythology relating to earthquakes and Ukiyo-e (woodblock prints): 

In Japanese mythology, the Namazu (鯰) or Ōnamazu (大鯰) is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes. He lives in the mud under the islands of Japan, and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains the catfish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes. Following an earthquake near Edo (modern day Tokyo) in 1855 (one of the Ansei Great Quakes), the Namazu became worshiped as a yonaoshi daimyojin (god of world rectification).[1]

Namazu-e (catfish prints) are a minor genre of ukiyo-e. They are usually unsigned and encompass a large variety of scenes such as a namazu forcing the wealthy to excrete coins for the poor, and a namazu atoning for the earthquake he caused.

It is believed by some that the origin of the story is the fact that catfish can sense the small tremors which happen before an earthquake, and are shown to be more active at such times. Supposedly, the sudden activity was observed in ancient times and believed the quakes to be the result of a giant catfish.

Like Greek or Norse mythology, ancient Japanese mythology have a bunch of weird ideas (perhaps no more weird than guys walking on water or snakes talking)... And through this mythology, there is a plethora of art on the subject.

Okay, I'll make this brief... "Jesus walked on water" is an example of figurative speech.

It doesn't mean that he literally "walked on water" it means that he achieved the impossible 

through positive thinking and faith... As they say, "Faith moves mountains."

Briefly, there is a god named Kashima who holds down earthquakes with a huge stone named Kaname. When the god Kashima can hold down the catfish, there are no earthquakes, but the catfish is slippery and sometimes gets loose...


Here are a bunch of pictures of woodblock prints from the Japanese National Library depicting the relation of catfish to earthquakes. (If you want to see more, go to this link and click on the blue lettering to the left: http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1307504?tocOpened=1)  

Catfish as saviors after an earthquake

Catfish of Edo period and Shinzu

Catfish and Kaname rock

Attack on the catfish from the Edo period

More partying with prostitutes and construction workers in Yoshiwara

The god Kashima holds down the catfish with the Kaname rock

Catfish remembering the dead

Earthquakes, thunder and fires evil gods

Kashima and a catfish in a tug or war

A great catfish is in the town (and causes an earthquake)

A million prayers for the dead

Ansei era of few earthquakes

Catfish with construction materials and tools

There are a bunch more photos of artwork at Pink Tentacle with English explanations here: http://pinktentacle.com/2011/04/namazu-e-earthquake-catfish-prints/

You can also try to decipher the results of testing on catfish here written in English: 

http://www.bousaihaku.com/cgi-bin/hp/index.cgi?ac1=R204&ac2=R20407&ac3=1262&Page=hpd_view


Why do I say, "try to decipher?" Well, here's the conclusion of the study for your purview:

Conclusion

Really, as the largest animals make noise What the catfish before the earthquake? For now, the legend is not to deny anything. The fish are bred in the aquarium daily importance, especially catfish who might make noise before the earthquake.

See? I don't know if that's proof that catfish cause earthquakes or can detect them, but deciphering those sentences make my head hurt! Or, should I say,


"The catfishes seem to do like the earthquake causation so much like I do?..."

28 Fantastic Hokusai Woodblock Prints from Old Edo Period Japan

One of my favorite thing about Japan are the old woodblock prints by the masters like Hokusai.

Wikipedia says about Woodblock prints:

Woodblock printing in Japan (Japanese: 木版画, moku hanga) is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only widely adopted in Japan surprisingly late, during the Edo period (1603-1867). The technique is essentially the same as that which is calledwoodcut in Western printmaking.

About Hokusai, Wikipedia writes:

Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎, October or November 1760 – May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. In his time, he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s.

Hokusai self-portrait

Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both within Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Laneconcludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series...". While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition and left a lasting impact on the art world. It was also The Great Wave print that initially received, and continues to receive, acclaim and popularity in the Western world. 

Here are twenty-eight marvelous Hokusai for your viewing pleasure:

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Besides the very famous ones we all know, Hokusai also did some very sexually orientated items too! This first one might explain the bizarre Japanese obsession with sex and tentacles in today's anime!

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See more Hokusai here: