Namazu: The Earthshaker
According to Japanese myth the cause of earthquakes is the giant catfish Namazu or Namazu-e (the second term refers to the woodcuts of Namazu) living buried in the underground. By moving his tail he can shake the entire earth and unfortunately he loves to cause trouble and havoc.
Japanese wood-block print showing a mythic catfish that causes earthquakes.
Namazu can be controlled only be the god Kashima, which with help of a powerful capstone pushes the fish against the underground and in such doing immobilized him. However the god sometimes got tired or is distracted from his duty and Namazu can move a bit and cause an earthquake.
The god Kashima immobilize with help of a capstone a guilty Namazu, demonstrating to a bunch of small catfishes, representing earthquakes of the past, the severe punishment for their behaviour.
During the 19th century and after the earthquake of Edo (modern Tokyo) in October 1855 the wrongdoings of Namazu became more a punishment of human greed, it was believed that the catfish by causing havoc forced people to redistribute equally their wealth, in this role Namazu became “Yonahi Daimyojin”, the god of world rectification.
Namazu in the form of “Yonaoshi Daimyojin” perpetuating his harakiri (in Japanese “Seppuku namazu”, 1855) with his sacrifice he will provide gold and money, dropping from his belly, for the people. Some of these depictions have also magical powers: whoever take them home will be protected from earthquakes and experience “10.000 years of luck”.
The classic images of Namazu (more than 300 are today known) were mainly a response of the Edo earthquake - by trying to depict also “positive aspects” (redistribution of wealth) of the earthquake the artists hoped to rise the morals of the survivors, also by the use of satire.
Namazu is represented as a good-for-nothing, a coward acting only when the gods are gone, a reference to the aristocracy and incompetent civil servants.
A Namazu, representing the earthquake of Edo (modern Tokyo) in October 1855, is attacked by peasants and concubines , in the background help for the catfish is approaching - craftsmen, who will take profit of the reconstruction of the city. The earthquake of Edo, which killed thousand of inhabitants, coincided with the traditional “month without gods”, believed a period when all of the gods gather in a secret temple. Taking advantage of the absence of Kashima, the coward Namazu rebelled and caused destruction and sorrows in the human world.
