Anthropological Approach to Vulnerability and Major Hazards - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 285

Figure 7.5. “The giant cat-fish - the prosperity of Edo” (ô-namazu Edo no nigiwai).
This representation of the Namazu is reminiscent of Commodore Perry's “black
ships” (source: [BUT 99, p. 28])
The catfish represent a principle of disorder capable of integrating
into a single metaphor the turmoil of a mythical beast capable of
triggering earth tremors and Commodore Perry's “black ships” ( 黒船 ,
kurofune ). In 1855, the change from the depiction of seismic disasters
using dragons to their depiction by Namazus signifies the arrival of a
new category of menace - the globalization of commercial and
cultural exchanges. In this regard, it is significant that in 1863, Japan
would sign the free trade agreement and that in 1868, this country
would begin a voluntary “enlightenment” ( Meiji ) where they would
aim to participate fully in this new cultural order, of which Japanese
society formed only a part.