Original Ono Bakufu woodblock print & Fish of Japan / "Dace (Ugui)"

A distinguished example from Ono Bakufu's monumental "Great Japanese Fish Picture Collection" (1937–1941), this woodblock print captures the dace with the series' signature blend of naturalistic observation and refined artistic composition. Bakufu's innovative methodology—studying living fish in aquariums and even from submersibles—enabled him to transcend the limitations of traditional natural history illustration. Executed in the shin-hanga tradition, the print employs multiple woodblocks with densely layered impressions, sometimes exceeding 250 per sheet, complemented by mica applications that render the subtle iridescence of scales. This work belongs to a comprehensive 72-print series documenting Japan's indigenous fish fauna, originally issued in a restricted 500-copy edition by Nishinomiya Shōin. The destruction of Bakufu's printing blocks during the 1945 Kyoto air raid has rendered first-edition impressions increasingly scarce and sought after by serious collectors of Japanese printmaking and scientific illustration.