Clams and Mollusks

Outside his primary ichthyological series, Ohno Bakufu occasionally extended his natural history practice to related marine subjects. This print depicts shells, clams, and mollusks with the same documentary precision that defined his fish portfolio. Individual specimens are likely arranged across the sheet as isolated studies rather than within a narrative scene, following the format of natural history illustration — each shell shown from multiple angles or in cross-section to reveal interior structure. The printing would require subtle graduation to capture the iridescent quality of shell surfaces, and the hard geometry of bivalve forms contrasts with the organic asymmetry typical of fish subjects. Such prints align with a broader early-twentieth-century Japanese interest in natural history as a subject worthy of fine woodblock technique, bridging scientific illustration and traditional kacho-e practice.