火難目石 vs. 要石

This image is rich in symbolism, but let us focus only on the namazu. The Kashima Deity is nowhere in sight, and the giant catfish triumphantly lifts the "Kananme-ishi" with one arm. Now, even if you cannot read them, look at the characters on the stone the catfish is holding. Here they are in printed form: 火難目石. Compare these four characters with normal way of writing kaname-ishi: 要石. The last one (-ishi 石, "stone") is the same in both cases. But in the image here, the normal kaname 要 has been replaced by Ka 火 (fire) + nan 難 (disaster, difficulties) + me 目(eye--but here suggesting "to meet with"). So the Kananame-ishi the namazu is holding means "the meeting with fiery disaster stone."

Plays on words featuring the substitution of different characters with the same or similar pronunciation were and are very common in Japanese cartoons, including political cartoons.