Digital Gyotaku Maker
Turn a photo of your catch into a Japanese-style fish print (gyotaku) or a catch poster. AI cuts out the fish, then you add washi paper or ukiyo-e waves, the species, length, weight, date and place, and a red seal stamp. Free, no app, no sign-up, and your photo never leaves your device.
1Choose a photo
Photos with the whole fish in view, on a plain background such as a mat, deck or the ground, cut out most cleanly.
🔒 Your photo is never uploaded or stored. Cutting out and creating the image both happen only in this browser.
2Cut out the fish
3Style
4Add text
The length is not measured from the photo. Enter the length you measured. Empty fields are left off the image. The seal says 魚拓 ("gyotaku") by default. Replace it with your initials, or clear it to remove the stamp.
5Preview and save
Press "Move fish", then drag on the preview to move the fish (on a computer you can drag right away).
Saved images do not include photo metadata (Exif) such as the location where the photo was taken.
How to use
- Choose a photo of your fish.
- Press "Auto cutout" and AI cuts out the fish. Fix missing or extra parts with "Trace around", "Eraser" and "Restore brush". Tap "Paint eye" and then the eye of the fish to paint it in, as in a traditional gyotaku.
- Pick a style. "Ink print" turns the fish into a sumi-ink gyotaku with faded strokes and bleeding edges. "Photo" keeps the cut-out fish in color as a catch poster. Choose a background such as washi paper, ukiyo-e waves or a fishing spot.
- Enter the species, length, weight, date, location and angler, and the seal stamp.
- Adjust the size, angle and position of the fish and press "Save image". Choose US Letter or A4 for printing, or square for social media.
Tips for a clean cutout
- Shoot the fish from the side with the whole body in view, from the mouth to the tip of the tail.
- Lay the fish on the ground, a mat or a cooler lid, with no hands or gear over it.
- Contrast helps: put dark fish on a light surface and silvery fish on a darker one.
- Measure the fish before you take the photo.
What is gyotaku?
Gyotaku (魚拓, "fish rubbing") is the Japanese practice of recording a catch by printing the fish itself in ink, either by inking the fish and pressing paper onto it, or by laying paper or cloth over the fish and dabbing ink on top. It developed in the Edo period. The Shōnai domain, around Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, is considered its birthplace: the domain encouraged its samurai to fish from the rocky shore as training, and they used gyotaku to record their catches, much as we take photos today. The oldest surviving gyotaku is Kinshibori no funa, a crucian carp caught in 1839 in the Kinshibori canal in Edo (now Tokyo) by Sakai Tadaaki, the ninth lord of the Shōnai domain. It is kept at the Tsuruoka City Museum of Local History (source: Nippon.com, "Experiencing the Art of Gyotaku Fish Prints").
A traditional print needs the fish itself, ink and paper, and the fish must be printed before it is cleaned or released. This tool makes a gyotaku-inspired image from a photo, so you can keep a print of a fish you released, or of a catch from years ago.
What this tool uses
- Automatic cutout … u2netp, the small version of U²-Net (Qin et al., 2020), in the ONNX format distributed by rembg (U²-Net: Apache License 2.0, rembg: MIT License), running in the browser with ONNX Runtime Web (MIT License, Microsoft).
- Fonts … Shippori Mincho for serif (SIL Open Font License 1.1) and Yuji Syuku for brush (SIL Open Font License 1.1).
- Backgrounds … made by this site with AI image generation.
FAQ
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. Loading the photo, cutting out the fish (including the AI cutout) and creating the image all happen inside your browser. The photo is never sent or stored. The first time you press "Auto cutout", the browser downloads the cutout program and model (about 8 MB) from this site, but your photo is not sent anywhere.
Is this a real gyotaku?
No. A traditional gyotaku is printed from the fish itself, either by inking the fish and pressing paper onto it, or by laying paper or cloth over the fish and dabbing ink on top. This tool turns your photo into a gyotaku-style image, with ink tones, faded strokes and bleeding edges. As in a traditional print, the eye is painted in afterwards ("Paint eye" in step 2).
Can it measure the length of my fish from the photo?
No. Measuring length from a photo needs a reference object and a straight-down angle, and still has errors. Measure the fish with a tape or ruler and type the length in. The tool shows exactly what you enter in inches and pounds, or centimeters and kilograms.
How do I print it?
Choose "US Letter landscape" (3300 × 2550 px) or "A4 landscape" (3508 × 2480 px) and save. Both are sized for printing at 300 dpi; print on photo paper of that size with "Fit to page". Use "Square" for Instagram and other social media.
What is the red stamp?
It is a rakkan, a seal stamp that artists put on their work in Japan. By default it says 魚拓 (gyotaku, "fish print"). You can replace it with your initials (up to 4 letters) or leave it empty to remove it.
The automatic cutout doesn't work well.
Busy backgrounds (a hand holding the fish, other fish or gear in the frame) and small fish in the photo are hard to cut out. Trace around the fish with "Trace around", or fix the result with "Eraser" and "Restore brush". Zoom in (2× or 4×) to clean up around the fins.
Can I use the images freely?
Yes, images made from your own photos (or photos you are allowed to use) are yours to post, print and keep. The background pictures were made by this site with AI image generation. You may use them as part of the images you create, but please do not extract the backgrounds alone to distribute or sell them.