Goldfish with Leaf Umbrella

Kingyo Series

In Japan, as in other parts of the East and the world, the Kingyo (goldfish) symbolizes prosperity and abundance. In traditional Japanese tattooing, they are usually depicted in red or black. Red goldfish bring good luck, while black goldfish ward off bad luck.

In this small illustration, I wanted to portray a Kingyo holding a leaf as an umbrella.

It's easy to associate this image with thousands of others we've seen in cartoons, children's books, etc. It is a very common scene of a human gesture that continues to cause tenderness, no matter how much it is repeated.

If you like this goldfish with leaf umbrella and Kawaii style drawings, you have to see the 9 prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) known as Kingyo-zukushi. You will be able to appreciate how this artist portrays the everyday life of the Japanese by illustrating common and funny scenes with goldfish as the main characters, as they were very popular at that time as pets.