Our Roots

About 100 years ago in Japan, fishermen created gyotaku prints to record their prized catches. Gyotaku is created by pressing rice paper onto a fish covered with ink or paint.

 Artist Naoki Hayashi began making gyotaku prints at age 11. Since then he has refined and mastered his unique gyotaku process. Each of Naoki's gyotaku pieces is created using non-toxic acrylic paints and Japanese shoji paper. As an avid diver and fisher, Naoki views each gyotaku as a window into the underwater world he sees when diving in Hawaii's beautiful ocean waters. His art features fish in true-life color and in compositions that reflect how they are found in nature. Naoki has a deep respect for the ocean and its creatures. Thus, he will only create gyotaku art from fish that will be eaten. Each of his gyotaku pieces is both a record of a fish and a meal shared with friends and family.

Gyotaku classes

Contact us to schedule a class with artist Naoki where you will learn about the history of Gyotaku & Gyotaku by Naoki and get a first hand experience of how this art is made from beginning to end.