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
Two Fish
Woodblock print
White Butterfly — 白い蝶
Woodblock print
Fishing — Uo-tsuri
1897
Woodblock print
Looking at the carp in a pond
Not set
Woodblock print
Fish Overland in Rain Diptych (20/40)
Woodblock print
Green Gulch Seed Catalogue - Golden Beet (44/50)
Woodblock print
Kumamoto Bright Communications Exhibition Mommemoration
Woodblock print
Year of the Tiger — 寅年の切手
Woodblock print
Nagano Communications Exhibition — 長野逓信展
Woodblock print
Nagano Communications Exhibition — 長野逓信展
Woodblock print
The Kyonghoiru Pavilion, Seoul — 京城 慶会楼
Woodblock print
Fisherman
Woodblock print
Monkey Rock in Shiobara (Shiobara Saruiwa)
Woodblock print
Fishing Village, Arai, Enshu
Woodblock print
Sanggye pavilion, Paekyang Temple
Woodblock print
Deer and Stag Pure Silk- 5- 1911
Woodblock print
Sketch of Horses — 群馬図
Woodblock print
![[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings] by Kobayashi Kiyochika](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/thumbs/00969v.jpg)
[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings]
Woodblock print
![[Humorous picture showing a Japanese soldier blowing away the flimsy structures or fortifications of the Chinese] by Kobayashi Kiyochika](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/thumbs/01000v.jpg)
[Humorous picture showing a Japanese soldier blowing away the flimsy structures or fortifications of the Chinese]
Woodblock print
![[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors] by Kobayashi Kiyochika](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/thumbs/01007v.jpg)
[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors]
Woodblock print
![[Russian soldier on horseback, carrying a sword in right hand, a spear in left hand, and a rifle mounted on his chest with a string extending from the trigger to his mouth] by Kobayashi Kiyochika](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/thumbs/01009v.jpg)
[Russian soldier on horseback, carrying a sword in right hand, a spear in left hand, and a rifle mounted on his chest with a string extending from the trigger to his mouth]
Woodblock print
The Sanggeru Pavilion, the Pegyangsa Temple, Korea — 白羊寺
Woodblock print
Frog on Lotus
Woodblock print
Nagaragawa Cormorant Fishing - 長良川鵜飼
Woodblock print
Bamboo and Racoon Dogs (1)
Woodblock print
Tonegawa koiryo 利根川鯉漁 / Bijin meisho awase 美人名所合
Woodblock print
Rabbit
Woodblock print
Fox with Nine Tails
Woodblock print
The Rising Koi (Japanese carp)
Woodblock print
"Similar to Golden Pavilion, Kyoto (1930's)"
Woodblock print
Koibumi- Love Letter — 恋文
Woodblock print
Chickens and Dragonfly
Woodblock print
Caricature of Japanese Ship (Cat) Bagging Chinese Ships (Rats), (from the series: One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs)
Woodblock print
Chicken and Dragonfly — 鶏と蜻蛉
Woodblock print
Chicken and Dragonfly — 鶏と蜻蛉
Woodblock print
Cat and Mouse
Woodblock print
Kinkakuji- Golden Pavilion
Woodblock print
The Floating Pavilion at Katada (Katada Ukimidô), from the series "Eight Views of Ômi (Ômi hakkei)"
Woodblock print
A Fishing Net with Four Hands
Woodblock print
A Pavilion
Woodblock print
Fishing Boats on Beach (N0. 2)
Woodblock print
Koi and Wisteria at Kameido Shrine (1)
Woodblock print
Pleasures of the World: Catching Fireflies (Yukiyo no Hana: Hotaru-gari)
Woodblock print
Cat and 8 Kittens
Woodblock print
Cat and sun
Woodblock print
Jewel Cat
Woodblock print
Happy Cat
Woodblock print
Calligraphy Cat
Woodblock print
Purple cat
Woodblock print
Happy Cat
Woodblock print
Cat
Woodblock print
Black cat
Woodblock print
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kuniyoshi's Cats (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kuniyoshi no neko)
Woodblock print
Carp (Koi)
Woodblock print
Golden Pavilion - Kinkakuji
Not set
Woodblock print
Christ of the Miracle of Loaves and Fish, Shôwa period, dated 1967
Woodblock print
Fishermen
Woodblock print
Fishing
Woodblock print
Three Fishermen
Woodblock print
Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji), Shôwa period, dated 1958
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
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.