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
Elephant
Woodblock print
White Fox Sisters
Woodblock print
White Fox Mirror
Woodblock print
White Fox Flowery Fields
Woodblock print
White Fox Lesson
Woodblock print
White Fox Fairies 2
Woodblock print
Tiger Lily No 2
Woodblock print
Tateyama Mountains from White Horse Peak (Hakuba Peak)
Woodblock print
Untitled- Cat
Woodblock print
Horse 1
Woodblock print
Uzumasa Ox Festival - 太秦牛祭
Woodblock print
Tateyama Mountains from White Horse Peak (Hakuba Peak)
Woodblock print
Tawara Tōda Hidesato and the Dragon Woman of Seta
1865, 2nd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Sleeping Cat
19th century
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper with embossing and sunago
The Bat-Wing Sail
1920s
Cow
1915
Woodblock print
Giant Snow Cat
Woodblock print
Black Cat
c. 1960
Color woodblock print
Cat 2
Woodblock print
Cat Watching Goldfish
金魚鉢を見つめる猫
c. 1931
Color woodblock print
Frog on Lotus Leaf
蓮の葉の蛙
c. 1930
Color woodblock print
Cat and Calligraphy B6
Woodblock print
Cat (looking back) 2B
Woodblock print
Gaze up at the Red Dragon Fly (2) B
Woodblock print
Morita Kanya XIII as the Lion in Shakkyo
十三代目守田勘弥の石橋の獅子
1926
Color woodblock print
Bird and Fox
1958
Woodblock print
Cat in Red
赤い猫
1962
Color woodblock print
Cat
Woodblock print
Steady Gaze (Cat)
凝視する猫
1965
Color woodblock print
Horse pulling sled
Woodblock print
Animal Performance
Woodblock print
Samurai on Horse
1980
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Warrior on a Horse
Woodblock print
![Title unknown [Cow and figures] by Maekawa Senpan](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/132673.jpg)
Title unknown [Cow and figures]
mid 20th century
Woodblock print, color on paper
Dog, Monkey, Bird, Haniwa - 埴輪・さる・とり・いぬ
Woodblock print
YURARI (snake)
Woodblock print
Horse
Woodblock print
Gaze up at the Red Dragon Fly (2) B
Woodblock print
White Fox Fairies 2
Woodblock print
White Fox Lesson
Woodblock print
White Fox Mirror
Woodblock print
White Fox Sisters
Woodblock print
Cat
Woodblock print
Kagamijishi (lion dance)
Woodblock print
Warrior Kajiwara Kagesueon a Black Horse
Woodblock print
Warrior on a Black Horse
Woodblock print
Warrior on a White Horse
Woodblock print
Warrior Sasaki Takatsuna on a White Horse
Woodblock print
Nigatsu-do Temple and Deer
Woodblock print
Black Cat at Night
Woodblock print
Cat
Woodblock print
Unknown, horse and rider
Woodblock print
Nigatsu-do Temple and Deer
Not set
Woodblock print
Squirrel and grapes
Not set
Woodblock print
Nude Woman Holding a Black Cat
1915
Woodblock print
Fox Women
1907
Color woodcut
Black Cat In Green And Yellow Tree
Woodblock print
Kuro neko (Black Cat) / Ishimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection, Vol 3)
Woodblock print
Mouton devant un village (Sheep in front of a village)
1960s
Etching with aquatint, ink and color on paper
Rabbit, 1955
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.