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
Mitate No.27 - Dragonfly (Kagerou)
2000
Mitate No.58 - Shrine Dogs (Koma-inu)
2002
Embrace the Fish
Moku Hanga
1967 Autumn Catalog
Woodblock print
Sleep Butterfly
Acrylic on Canvas
Magic Carpet
2025
Oil on Dibond
Butterfly A
1953
Woodblock print
Butterfly B
1953
Woodblock print
Butterfly Dance - Summer
1984
Zinc plate and woodblock print
Kamematsu 亀松 (Turtle and Pine)
Woodblock print
Boy and Fish
Woodblock print
Two Rabbits- 2
Woodblock print
Two Rabbits- 2
Woodblock print
Two Rabbits- 2
Woodblock print
Two Rabbits- 2
Woodblock print
Foxglove
Lithograph with collage
Magic Carpet
1912
Color woodcut
Butterfly and Hydrangea
Woodblock print
Butterfly
Woodblock print
Colorful Rebellion--Pink
2016
Mixed media on wooden panel
Tozai kyoka mondo (The Comic Catechism)
Woodblock print
Cats
Woodblock print
Carp and Tortoises
after 1940
Color woodblock print
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion, Kyoto)
Woodblock print
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Sharaku's Caricatures
2011
Color woodblock print
Steady Gaze (Two Cats)
1952
Color woodblock print; edition 73/200
White Cat and Kitten
Woodblock print
Boy with Dog and Cat
Woodblock print
Boy with Dog and Cat
Woodblock print
Boy with Dog and Cat
Woodblock print
Wind and Butterfly
1959
Color on paper
Butterfly
2017
Woodblock print
Poissons et feuilles mortes (Fish and dead leaves)
1960
Etching with aquatint, ink and color on paper
Crimson Butterfly
1981–90
Color mezzotint
Leaf and Butterfly, Shôwa period, dated 1972
Woodblock print
Mother Cat
Woodblock print
Boy with Cat
Woodblock print
Horses grazing
Woodblock print
天使（兎の舞い） – Angel (Dance of the Rabbits)
2015
Multi-block woodcut print on washi paper
Fashionable Battle of Frogs (Fûryû kaeru ôgassen no zu)
Woodblock print
Dry fish
1967
Soft-ground etching and aquatint, ink on paper
Old Catfish (Oinamazu): Geisha Playing Samisen and Clown Imitating Catfish
Woodblock print
The Golden Fish
Woodblock print
Pufferfish
1981
Etching
Boy and Fish
Woodblock print
Fishing (1)
Woodblock print
Fishing Baskets
c. 1950-60s
Color woodblock print
Untitled (Fishing)
c.1950s
Color woodblock print
Changing from an Ox to a Horse (Ushi o uma ni norikaeru), from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishiwata-koitsu)
Woodblock print
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.