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Unknown fish 1 by Ohno Bakufu — Japanese Woodblock print

Unknown fish 1

by Ohno Bakufu

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Japanese Art Open Database

Description

Provisionally titled 'Unknown Fish 1,' this Ohno Bakufu woodblock print represents a species from his natural history output that has not been definitively identified in the collection records. The designation acknowledges the limits of cataloguing a large-scale series without access to complete Japanese title documentation. Ohno's fish series covered an extensive range of Japanese marine fauna, and the variety of species depicted—from large pelagic fish such as tuna and yellowtail to smaller inshore and rockfish species—means that some subjects are immediately recognizable while others require specialist ichthyological knowledge for identification. The technical execution of the print would reflect the production standards of the series regardless of subject: professionally cut cherry-wood blocks, careful registration, graduated bokashi for volumetric modeling, and printing on dampened washi to allow the pigments to penetrate the paper surface. The documentary value of the print is independent of its current identification status.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Unknown fish 1 was created by Ohno Bakufu (大野麦風).

Unknown fish 1 depicts animals.