Old Catfish (Oinamazu): Geisha Playing Samisen and Clown Imitating Catfish
Description
A print depicting an old catfish — the "namazu" of Japanese legend, believed to live in the earth beneath Japan and cause earthquakes by thrashing — here transformed into a comic scene of a geisha playing shamisen while a clown imitates the fish's movements. The catfish was a charged symbol in the 1850s–1860s following the great Ansei Edo earthquake of 1855, which generated an entire genre of "catfish prints" commenting on social upheaval. Kyosai's version, set years later, deploys the symbol in a more relaxed, playful register.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
Tenpôzan in Osaka: Viewing Children's Sumo (Naniwa Tenpôzan kodomo sumô shôran), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô
1863
Woodblock print
Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Gontazaka, from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Old Catfish (Oinamazu): Geisha Playing Samisen and Clown Imitating Catfish was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Old Catfish (Oinamazu): Geisha Playing Samisen and Clown Imitating Catfish depicts music, fish, and bijin-ga.