Twenty-four octopuses and a squid

Abalone Fishergirl with an Octopus (c. 1773-1774) by Katsukawa Shunsho.

Cephalopods in Japanese prints. There are many more octopuses than squids, especially the marauding variety, and that’s before you get to the erotic encounters like Hokusai’s notorious shunga dream.

The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife (1814) by Katsushika Hokusai.

Seven Divers and a Big Octopus (c. 1830–40s) by Utagawa Kunisada.

Ario-maru Struggling with a Giant Octopus (1833–1835) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Popular Octopus Games (1840–1842) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Parallels for the Cloudy Chapters of the Tale of Genji (1845–1846) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Parody of Umegae Striking the Bell of Limitless [Hell] (c. 1847) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

A Female Abalone Diver Wrestling With An Octopus (1870s) by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Delicacies of the Sea by Totoya Hokkei.

Fish and Octopus by Setsuri.

Sea Monster – Kaiju Manga – No. 8 (2007) by Tom Kristensen.

Squid (1940) by Ohno Bakufu.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Seventeen views of Edo
• The art of Yuhan Ito, 1882–1951
• Eight Views of Cherry Blossom
• Fourteen views of Himeji Castle
• One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji
• The art of Kato Teruhide, 1936–2015
• Fifteen ghosts and a demon
• Hiroshi Yoshida’s India
• The art of Hasui Kawase, 1883–1957
• The art of Paul Binnie
• Nineteen views of Zen gardens
• Ten views of the Itsukushima Shrine
• Charles Bartlett’s prints
• Sixteen views of Meoto Iwa
• Waves and clouds
• Yoshitoshi’s ghosts
• Japanese moons
• The Hell Courtesan
• Nocturnes