Bakufu: Five Wrasse (Beraベラ) (First Edition) (Sold)

Artist: Ohno Bakufu (1888-1976) Title: Five Wrasse (Beraベラ) (First Edition) Series: Great Japanese Fish Picture Collection 大日本魚類画集 (Dai Nihon yorui gashu)  Date: 1937, NovemberPublisher: Nishinomiya Shoin Five beautifully colored and patterned wrasse swim near some ethereal clumps of seaweed. Here is the translation of the entry in the Japanese book on the series: “The name “kyûsen“ is used only (by the people) of Misaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. In general usage, it is simply called “bera“, a wrasse. The base color of a male kyûsen is blue, with one large dark-blue spot on the body side where a pectoral fin attaches. The base color of a female is orange-red, and it has no spot like a male. Surprisingly, babies of both sexes have the same color as the grown female. Therefore, a young male looks like the mixture of the male and female kyûsen.” Bakufu Ohno designed 72 prints in his “Art Portfolio of Familiar Fishes of Nippon”, which was published by the Kyoto publisher Nishinomiya Shoin in f