Gyotaku is a traditional japanese art form which developed in the early 1800's, initially to record the size and shape of a specimen fish. Inks and paper are applied to the body of the fish (gyo=fish, taku=impression) to produce a direct or indirect print. Several prints may be made from the same fish but each is different and original. Apart from the eye, there is no re-touching or modification of the image. Fish-printing is a japanese technique but is related to the many forms of 'printing from nature' used by early European naturalists and artists.