Hammachi- Suzuki — スズキ

This print from the 'Dai Nihon Gyorui Gashu' series depicts the suzuki (スズキ), the Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus), a prized coastal predator that holds an elevated place in Japanese culinary and literary culture. The title's pairing with 'Hammachi' likely references a regional or market name applied to a size class of the same or related species. Ohno renders the suzuki's elongated, laterally compressed body with careful attention to its two-part dorsal fin, spiny anterior section and soft posterior, and the characteristic rows of small scales that catch light along the fish's sides. A second variant in the series, this print may differ in the precise tonal gradation of the fish's silver-and-grey flanks or in the presentation of a companion specimen. The suzuki is celebrated in Japanese gastronomy as a summer fish, and its association with clear coastal waters gives this natural history portrait a seasonal resonance consistent with the broader poetic sensibility of the series.