“Namazu-e” from Japan: Earthquake catfish prints · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Pink Tentacle posted numerous images of namazu-e (“catfish pictures”), a type of color woodblock print that became popular after the Great Ansei Earthquake, which struck current day Tokyo in 1855. The mythology namazu and earthquakes is still prevalent in contemporary Japanese culture; one such example being the icon for the iPhone app that gives earthquake warnings.