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Namazu-e (鯰絵, catfish picture)

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Japanese colour woodblock print showing men and a god approaching clothed catfish in foreground

Namazu-e (鯰絵, catfish picture)

Date: 1855
Medium: O-ban Nishiki-e (大判錦絵, large-format coloured print)
Object number: O.11.26
DescriptionNamazu-e (鯰絵, catfish pictures) are published during the Edo period. They were published in large numbers following the Ansei earthquake (安政の大地震) of 2 October 1855, based on the folk belief that an earthquake was caused by a large catfish active underground.

Some understood earthquakes as equalising wealth imbalances.