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
Urashima Taro Returning Home from the Palace of the Dragon King (Urashima Taro no ko kikoku ju Ryugujo no zu)
1886
Color woodblock print; oban diptych
Yamamoto Kansuke Killing a Wild Boar
1868, 4th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
A picture of a tiger, 1860
Woodblock print
From the Thicket, a Pole (Yabu kara bô): Monkey and the Seven Sages (Son Gokû, Shichikenjin), from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Mother and Child Playing with Dog
Woodblock print
Shoki riding on a tiger chasing demons away, titled Satsuki (Fifth month), from
Woodblock print
Standing Screen (Tsuitate) of a Tiger
1878
color woodblock print; surimono
Tiger on Standing Screen and Painting Tools
1878
Woodblock print (surimono); ink, color, and metallic pigments on paper
True Picture of a Live Wild Tiger
Late Edo period, sixth month of 1860
Yokohama woodblock print in ōban format; ink and color on paper
True Picture of a Live Wild Tiger, Late Edo period, sixth month of 1860
Woodblock print
Cat Catching a Rat
1920s
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Tiger Banner in a Grove
December 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fighting between a rat and a cat (title not original)
Woodblock print
Nine tail fox
Woodblock print
Beauty with a Cat playing with a String of flags
Woodblock print
Covers of the three booklets Bright Young Girl in the Abyss of a Poisonous Snake, vol. 3
1880
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Emperor Meiji and Empress at Horse Races
Woodblock print
Horse Races by Shinobazu Pond, Ueno
Woodblock print
Black Cat - 黒猫
Woodblock print
Design for the songlet Dragon Gorges
c. 1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Frog / Takehisa Yumeji Mokuhangu-shu
Woodblock print
Kaeru - Frog
Woodblock print
Ox Cart in Grand Canyon
Woodblock print
Woman and Cat
Woodblock print
Zodiac Series of Erotica: Boar
1970s
Woodblock print
Zodiac Series of Erotica: Monkey
Showa - Contemporary 1970's
Drawing
Zodiac Series of Erotica: Ox
Showa - Contemporary 1970's
Woodblock print
Zodiac Series of Erotica: Rabbit
Showa - Contemporary 1970's
Drawing
Cat in the Rain (Ame ni Neko)
Woodblock print
Deer in the Snow (Yuki ni Shika)
Woodblock print
White Cat
Woodblock print
A Lion Training a Cub
c. 1832/34
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Monkey, Rooster, Hen and Chicks, Chrysanthemums and Plum
1820
The Monkey Bridge in Winter
Mid-19th century
Woodblock print; hashira-e
Hour of the Tiger (Tora no koku = 4 AM) from the series Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara (Seirô jûni toki tsuzuki), Late Edo period, circa 1794
Woodblock print
Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot
1781–1806
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Miyamoto Musashi Killing a Monster Bat in the Mountains of Tambo Province
Woodblock print
Nitta Tadatsune Encounters the Goddess of Mt. Fuji and Her Dragon in Her Cave on Mt. Fuji.
Woodblock print
Snake (Mi): Nitan Shiro, from the series "Heroes for the Twelve Animals of the Zodiac (Buyu mitate junishi)"
c. 1840
Color woodblock print; oban
Two Waterfowl, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)
Woodblock print
Neighing Horses (Kaze ni hoyu / Uma), Shôwa period, dated 1958
Woodblock print
Peaceful Wild Animals
1974
Color woodblock print
Caravan from Afganistan
1932
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
1926
Woodblock print
Hares and Roses
c. 1783
Color woodblock print; hashira-e
Nara Park
n.d. [1952]
Color woodblock print
Wake Up - 2 (B)
Woodblock print
Asian Collection Internet Auction
Woodblock print
A pair of mandarin ducks, c.1935
Woodblock print
Look Back (3) Red
Woodblock print
Macaw on a pine branch
c. 1835
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Swans
Woodblock print
Asian Collection Internet Auction
Woodblock print
Cock Fight, Philippines
Woodblock print
Blue Birds and Akebia
Woodblock print
Fly Away (B)
Woodblock print
Shoson Ohara
Woodblock print
Untitled (tadashi-nakayama)
Woodblock print
Sit down (5)
Woodblock print
Two Black Geese
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.