It starts with a fish, some ink and a sheet of paper. What began as a way for Japanese fishermen to record notable catches has grown into an international fine art practice known as gyotaku.
Gyotaku dates back to the 19th century, when fishermen smeared fish with sumi ink and pressed them onto washi paper to make prints. Over time, they refined the process and moved from monochrome prints to colour paints.
The practice later developed into a formal art form, with established methods for drying and preparing fish before printing. Preparation matters because fish slime and liquid can damage the delicate rice paper used in traditional gyotaku. Artists remove slime and plug openings to stop water leaking out.
Two main methods are used. Direct gyotaku involves drying the fish, applying ink or paint, and rubbing it with washi paper. That produces a reversed image. The indirect method places paper or cloth over the fish and secures it to a board with rice paste, allowing the artist to produce an image that is not reversed.
In both methods, the fish can still be eaten afterwards. In both, the eye must be painted in later because pigment will not stick to a fish’s eye.
The technique has also expanded through new colouring methods that reflect the iridescence of fish scales or the density of skin pigments at different life stages.
Japan Times spoke with Keisuke Matsunaga, the grandson of a renowned gyotaku master, who said applying pigment is a race against time and must be finished in about 30 minutes before renewed moisture from the fish starts to degrade the work.
One consistent rule is that nothing can be added later except the eye. Any other touch-ups shift the work away from printing and towards painting.
Gyotaku has spread well beyond Japan, with artists practising it in Australia, Italy, America, Hawaii and Brazil.
In Liguria, in Italy, Elena Di Capita told GNN she “is the artist that brought it to Italy”. Her work focuses mainly on schools of anchovies, which the source says are the most important fish in her home region.
She departs from traditional gyotaku by mixing different biological environments and creating large compositions with a dynamic look. She also said she works with bycatch, fish caught incidentally while targeting gamefish.
She said these animals “died for nothing” and that her gyotaku gives them new meaning as a tribute to their accidental loss.
“My work with them is about giving them dignity. It’s a way to celebrate life,” she told the Times.
In the United States, gyotaku can be found in aquariums and elementary school classrooms. In its most basic form, it is something children can do and do fairly well.
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