Photos: Children Make Japanese Fish Prints at Library

Over 20 children at the Riverhead Free Library used rubber fish to replicate a Japanese art form on Tuesday evening. The free event, called Gyotaku fish printing, taught children the ancient art of painting fish with ink and pressing them into paper to make a prints of their shapes.

Gyotaku (pronounced GEE-Oh-TAH-Koo) is the Japanese art dating back to 1862, and was originally used by fisherman to record their catches and document the size and kinds of fish they caught. Not only did this method prevent fisherman from exaggerating their catches, but it spawned a new art form now practiced around the world.