Gyotaku: The ancient Japanese art of printing fish - K. Erica Dodge

鱼拓——拓印鱼的古老日本艺术 - 艾瑞卡·道奇 (K. Erica Dodge)

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

翻译人员: Tuo Lin 校对人员: Jenny Yang

How big was that fish you caught?

你抓到的鱼有多大？

This big?

这么大？

This big?

这么大？

This big?

还是这么大？

Without photographic evidence,

没有照片当证据

there's nothing that proves you caught a whopper,

你就没法证明你抓了一条大鱼

and that's been true since the dawn of fishing.

自人类捕鱼以来，一直都是如此

In fact, hundreds of years ago,

事实上，几百年前

long before photography could capture the moment,

早在照片可捕捉瞬间前

Japanese fishermen invented their own way

日本渔民就发明了 一套自己的方法

to record trophy catches.

来记录值得炫耀的战利品

They called it Gyotaku.

他们把这技术叫鱼拓(Gyotaku)

Gyotaku is the ancient art of printing fish

鱼拓 是把鱼拓印下来的古老艺术

that originated in Japan

发源自日本

as a way to record trophy catches

用来记录特殊的渔获

prior to the modern day camera.

起源比相机还早

Gyo means fish

Gyo 的意思是鱼

and taku means impression.

而 taku 的意思是拓印

There are several different stories about

关于鱼拓的由来

how Gyotaku came about,

有好几种不同说法

but it basically started with fishermen

但基本上起源于

needing a way to record the species and size

一百多年前

of the fish they caught over 100 years ago.

来记录抓到的鱼种及大小

Fishermen took paper, ink, and brushes

渔民会带着纸、墨汁和毛笔

out to sea with them.

一同出海

They told stories of great adventures at sea.

来讲述海上的伟大冒险故事

Since the Japanese revered certain fish,

因为日本人崇敬某些鱼类

the fishermen would take a rubbing from these fish

渔民会先将鱼拓印起来

and release them.

再把它们放走

To make the rubbing,

要制作拓印

they would paint the fish with non-toxic sumi-e ink

渔民会先将鱼涂上无毒的墨汁

and print them on rice paper.

然后拓印在宣纸上

This way they could be released

这样就可以把鱼放回去

or cleaned and sold at market.

或是洗干净，再拿去市场卖

The first prints like this were for records only

像这张早期的鱼拓只是用来记录

with no extra details.

并没有额外的细节咨询

It wasn't until the mid 1800's

一直到十九世纪中期

that they began painting eye details

渔民才开始在拓印上

and other embellishments onto the prints.

画出眼睛的细节 及其他附加装饰

One famous nobleman, Lord Sakai, was an avid fisherman,

有位著名的贵族伯爵“酒井” 是狂热的捕鱼爱好者

and, when he made a large catch,

有一次他捕到了一条大鱼

he wanted to preserve the memory

他想保存

of the large, red sea bream.

这只又大又红的海鲷鱼的记录

To do so, he commissioned a fisherman to print his catch.

因此，他委托一位渔民帮他拓印

After this, many fisherman would bring

之后许多渔民就会带着

their Gyotaku prints to Lord Sakai,

他们的鱼拓来找酒井伯爵

and if he liked their work,

如果伯爵喜欢他们的作品

he would hire them to print for him.

就会雇用他们来帮忙制作鱼拓

Many prints hung in the palace during the Edo period.

江户时期 宫殿里挂着许多鱼拓

After this period, Gyotaku was not as popular

之后 鱼拓就不流行了

and began to fade away.

开始被淡忘

Today, Gyotaku has become a popular art form,

今天，鱼拓再度成为 一种流行的艺术形式

enjoyed by many.

收到许多人喜爱

And the prints are said to bring good luck to the fishermen.

而且据说鱼拓会为捕鱼者带来好运

But the art form is quite different than it used to be.

但这艺术形式和昔日有很大的不同

Most artists today learn on their own by trial and error.

许多现代艺术家在尝试、错误中学习

Before the artist begins to print,

艺术家在开始拓印前

the fish needs to be prepared for printing.

要先把鱼准备好

First, the artist places the fish

首先 艺术家把鱼放在

on a hollowed out surface.

一个凹陷的平面

Then the artist spreads the fins out

接着艺术家把鱼鳍展开

and pins them down on the board to dry.

用大头针固定在板子上风干

They then clean the fish with water.

接着他们用水清洗鱼

When it comes time to print,

要拓印时

there are two different methods.

有两种不同的方法

The indirect method begins with pasting moist fabric or paper

“间接法” 先将潮湿的布或纸张

onto the fish using rice paste.

用浆糊贴在鱼上

Then, the artist uses a tompo,

接着艺术家会用 “拓包”(tompo)

or a cotton ball covered in silk,

或者包了丝绸的棉球

to put ink on the fabric or paper to produce the print.

沾墨到布料或纸张上拓印

This method requires more skill

这个方法需要较高的技巧

and great care needs to be taken

也要非常小心的

when pulling the paper off the fish

将纸张和鱼分离

so the paper doesn't tear.

这样纸才不会破掉

In the direct method,

而用“直接法”

the artist paints directly on the fish,

艺术家直接将鱼上墨

and then gently presses the moist fabric or paper into the fish.

然后轻轻地将潮湿的布或纸张 压在鱼身上

With both of these methods,

有了这两种方法

no two prints are exactly alike,

没有两张鱼拓会一模一样

but both reveal dramatic images of the fish.

但是都能生动的展现鱼的形象

For the final touch,

最后一步

the artist uses a chop, or a stamp,

艺术家会盖“印”(chop) 就是印章

and signs their work,

然后为作品签名

and can hold it up to say,

接着就可拿着说：

"The fish was exactly this big!"

“那条鱼就是那么大！”