How big was that fish you caught? This big? This big? This big? Without photographic evidence, there's nothing that proves you caught a whopper, and that's been true since the dawn of fishing. In fact, hundreds of years ago, long before photography could capture the moment, Japanese fishermen invented their own way to record trophy catches. They called it Gyotaku. Gyotaku is the ancient art of printing fish that originated in Japan as a way to record trophy catches prior to the modern day camera. Gyo means fish and taku means impression. There are several different stories about how Gyotaku came about, but it basically started with fishermen needing a way to record the species and size of the fish they caught over 100 years ago. Fishermen took paper, ink, and brushes out to sea with them. They told stories of great adventures at sea. Since the Japanese revered certain fish, the fishermen would take a rubbing from these fish and release them. To make the rubbing, they would paint the fish with non-toxic sumi-e ink and print them on rice paper. This way they could be released or cleaned and sold at market. The first prints like this were for records only with no extra details. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that they began painting eye details and other embellishments onto the prints. One famous nobleman, Lord Sakai, was an avid fisherman, and, when he made a large catch, he wanted to preserve the memory of the large, red sea bream. To do so, he commissioned a fisherman to print his catch. After this, many fisherman would bring their Gyotaku prints to Lord Sakai, and if he liked their work, he would hire them to print for him. Many prints hung in the palace during the Edo period. After this period, Gyotaku was not as popular and began to fade away. Today, Gyotaku has become a popular art form, enjoyed by many. And the prints are said to bring good luck to the fishermen. But the art form is quite different than it used to be. Most artists today learn on their own by trial and error. Before the artist begins to print, the fish needs to be prepared for printing. First, the artist places the fish on a hollowed out surface. Then the artist spreads the fins out and pins them down on the board to dry. They then clean the fish with water. When it comes time to print, there are two different methods. The indirect method begins with pasting moist fabric or paper onto the fish using rice paste. Then, the artist uses a tompo, or a cotton ball covered in silk, to put ink on the fabric or paper to produce the print. This method requires more skill and great care needs to be taken when pulling the paper off the fish so the paper doesn't tear. In the direct method, the artist paints directly on the fish, and then gently presses the moist fabric or paper into the fish. With both of these methods, no two prints are exactly alike, but both reveal dramatic images of the fish. For the final touch, the artist uses a chop, or a stamp, and signs their work, and can hold it up to say, "The fish was exactly this big!"
你抓到的鱼有多大? 这么大? 这么大? 还是这么大? 没有照片当证据 你就没法证明你抓了一条大鱼 自人类捕鱼以来,一直都是如此 事实上,几百年前 早在照片可捕捉瞬间前 日本渔民就发明了 一套自己的方法 来记录值得炫耀的战利品 他们把这技术叫鱼拓(Gyotaku) 鱼拓 是把鱼拓印下来的古老艺术 发源自日本 用来记录特殊的渔获 起源比相机还早 Gyo 的意思是鱼 而 taku 的意思是拓印 关于鱼拓的由来 有好几种不同说法 但基本上起源于 一百多年前 来记录抓到的鱼种及大小 渔民会带着纸、墨汁和毛笔 一同出海 来讲述海上的伟大冒险故事 因为日本人崇敬某些鱼类 渔民会先将鱼拓印起来 再把它们放走 要制作拓印 渔民会先将鱼涂上无毒的墨汁 然后拓印在宣纸上 这样就可以把鱼放回去 或是洗干净,再拿去市场卖 像这张早期的鱼拓只是用来记录 并没有额外的细节咨询 一直到十九世纪中期 渔民才开始在拓印上 画出眼睛的细节 及其他附加装饰 有位著名的贵族伯爵“酒井” 是狂热的捕鱼爱好者 有一次他捕到了一条大鱼 他想保存 这只又大又红的海鲷鱼的记录 因此,他委托一位渔民帮他拓印 之后许多渔民就会带着 他们的鱼拓来找酒井伯爵 如果伯爵喜欢他们的作品 就会雇用他们来帮忙制作鱼拓 江户时期 宫殿里挂着许多鱼拓 之后 鱼拓就不流行了 开始被淡忘 今天,鱼拓再度成为 一种流行的艺术形式 收到许多人喜爱 而且据说鱼拓会为捕鱼者带来好运 但这艺术形式和昔日有很大的不同 许多现代艺术家在尝试、错误中学习 艺术家在开始拓印前 要先把鱼准备好 首先 艺术家把鱼放在 一个凹陷的平面 接着艺术家把鱼鳍展开 用大头针固定在板子上风干 接着他们用水清洗鱼 要拓印时 有两种不同的方法 “间接法” 先将潮湿的布或纸张 用浆糊贴在鱼上 接着艺术家会用 “拓包”(tompo) 或者包了丝绸的棉球 沾墨到布料或纸张上拓印 这个方法需要较高的技巧 也要非常小心的 将纸张和鱼分离 这样纸才不会破掉 而用“直接法” 艺术家直接将鱼上墨 然后轻轻地将潮湿的布或纸张 压在鱼身上 有了这两种方法 没有两张鱼拓会一模一样 但是都能生动的展现鱼的形象 最后一步 艺术家会盖“印”(chop) 就是印章 然后为作品签名 接着就可拿着说: “那条鱼就是那么大!”