Cats Forming the Characters for Catfish

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Painted

c. 1842

Collection

Private collection

Utagawa Kuniyoshi loved cats and is said to have drawn with one in his arms. Here the cats are bent into the shape of the characters for namazu, catfish — a fine example of the Edo game of making writing and picture the same thing. Black-patched cats on a pale ground give strong contrast, which makes the pieces easy to find.

Object record (Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain

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