Gyotaku Art In Hawaii

Gyotaku fish printing is an Asian art form that originated during the 1800’s. This unique form of printing uses freshly caught fish, aquatic life and plants, to create imprints on paper or fabric. In Hawaii gyotaku artists still use this artistic method to document the size and girth of a fishermens prized catch. The “subject” is recorded for posterity, then ready to eat, as gyotaku uses non-toxic inks and paints.

In Japanese Gyo=Fish, and Taku=Imprint, therefore Gyotaku art uses fish and other sea life to create original prints. Traditionally gyotaku was created using rice paper and carbon-based sumi ink. Today most gyotaku is printed on a variety of paper and cloth materials, and artists often substitute the sumi ink for non-toxic acrylic paints. Gyotaku artists will often incorporate color pencil, paints or pastels in order to create colorful, life like renditions of the original species.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Gyotaku Fish Prints Are A Popular Art Form In Hawaii

  Fishing is, and has been a daily way of life for the peoples of Hawaii for time out of mind, and today Hawaii is world renouned as a fishermen’s paradise. When a fishermen catches a large, rare or record breaking fish, he will very often have it gyotaku printed before eating or selling it.  Hawaii has become a creative hot spot for gyotaku, finding a niche in prints of fish that are native to the archipelago. Because of Hawaii’s rare isolation, approximately 30% of fish are unique to the island chain. These native fish prints stand out as distinctly Hawaiian Gyotaku, making the islands an ideal place to find one-of-a-kind prints
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