Catfish — なまず （Namazu）

The catfish (Namazu; なまず; Silurus asotus) holds a singular place in Japanese culture that extends far beyond its practical role as a food fish. Believed since ancient times to cause earthquakes by thrashing in the underground sea, the catfish became an icon of natural disaster and social disruption, depicted in thousands of "catfish prints" (namazu-e) after the great Ansei earthquake of 1855. Bakufu's rendering of the catfish in his fish compendium gives the species its natural history due while inevitably invoking this rich cultural mythology.