Animals Prints (865)
Animal subjects in Japanese woodblock prints extend well beyond the birds-and-flowers genre to encompass a wide range of creatures — horses, cats, fish, insects, rabbits, foxes, and mythological beasts — each carrying distinct cultural associations and artistic challenges. Animals appear as primary subjects, as symbolic elements within larger compositions, and as characters in narrative prints drawn from folklore and literature. Cats and tigers were favored subjects of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, whose playful cat prints and dramatic tiger compositions influenced generations of artists. Horse prints documented both the practical role of horses in Japanese transportation and warfare and their symbolic associations with strength and nobility. Fish prints, particularly carp, carried auspicious connotations and demanded technical virtuosity in rendering scales and aquatic movement through woodblock carving. Mythological animals — dragons, kirin, phoenixes, and the fox spirits (kitsune) of Japanese folklore — provided opportunities for dramatic, imaginative compositions unconstrained by naturalistic observation. The sosaku-hanga movement brought new approaches to animal subjects, with artists like Tokuriki Tomikichiro and Saito Kiyoshi creating stylized animal prints that balanced decorative design with observed natural form.
Artists Known for Animals
#98 tsukiji fish market
Woodblock print
young boy (artist’s son) and his dog
Woodblock print
Unknown, cat and kittens
Woodblock print
Fishing Boats at Tsukuda
佃の漁船
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
Fishing Nets at Tsukuda
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Bijin and Dragonfly (1)
Woodblock print
Blowfish Lantern No. 7
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Christ of the Miracle of Loaves and Fish
Woodblock print
Seated Cat
Woodblock print
Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
Woodblock print
Carp
1952
Woodcut print
Fishing Baskets (1)
Woodblock print
Kingfisher (Kawasemi)
1928
Woodcut print
1973 Spring Catalog
Woodblock print
Leaf and Butterfly
Woodblock print
Wooden Horses from Naha and Mutsu
mid–20th century
Color woodblock print
Akasaka: Lovesick cats
Woodblock print
Hodogawa: 1942 Steam Engine No. D 51
Woodblock print
Shirasuka: Fishing Village
Woodblock print
Totsuka : Carp Streamers
Woodblock print
Cat's Parade
Woodblock print
Char Fishing in the rocks
Woodblock print
Ferry in Edogawa Imai
Woodblock print
Cat
Woodblock print
Cat in Bush
Woodblock print
Go Go Koinobori (Daisuke)
18/155, 2008
Woodblock print
Triptych: Ueno Shinobazu Horserace
Meiji period, 1890
Woodblock-printed "ōban" triptych; ink and color on paper
Playing Fish B
Woodblock print
Two cats
Woodblock print
Butterfly Kimono
Woodblock print
Two Fish
Woodblock print
Golden Pavillion (Spring)
Woodblock print
Okumura, Koichi
Woodblock print
Untitled (okumura-koichi)
Woodblock print
Dragonflies and flowers
Woodblock print
Fan print- shrimp and fish
Woodblock print
Golden Pavillion in the mist
Woodblock print
Huam Carp07543
Woodblock print
Fish Boat
Woodblock print
Fishing in the Morning Mist
Woodblock print
My Sweet Cattleya
2015
Acrylic Mount
Aigrette and Two Fish
977
Two etchings with aquatint in colours on BFK Rives wove
Butterfly
1965
Oil on canvas
Sea Horses
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Woman taking a catnap
description
Woodblock print
Butterfly
1964
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Goldfish (Kingyo)
1958
Color woodblock print
Poem No. 8: Butterfly
抒情 No.8 蝶
1948
Color woodblock print
Carp
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Carp Leaping
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Frogs Wrestling
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Snake Charmers
Woodblock print
Butterfly and Hydrangeas
1936
Woodblock print
My Pet Horse- LE — 馬
Woodblock print
Iris and Dragonfly
Woodblock Print
Golden Pavilion
Woodblock print
Butterfly
Woodblock print
Mitate No.26 - Carp (Koi)
2000
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Animal subjects in Japanese woodblock prints extend well beyond the birds-and-flowers genre to encompass a wide range of creatures — horses, cats, fish, insects, rabbits, foxes, and mythological beasts — each carrying distinct cultural associations and artistic challenges. Animals appear as primary subjects, as symbolic elements within larger compositions, and as characters in narrative prints drawn from folklore and literature.
Ishiwata Koitsu, Ohara Koson, and Jun'ichiro Sekino are among the artists most associated with animals in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 865 prints tagged with animals, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.