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
Gekko's Sketches in Iroha-alphabet order (Vol. 2, fasc. 3)
1898
Woodblock printed book, ink on paper
Picture of Masakiyo Conqering Korea
1864, 3rd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Nakayama, Tadashi
Woodblock print
Ikkai Sketches (Ikkai manga), vol. 1
1866
Collection of Humorous Leftovers (Kokkei zansai bukuro 滑稽残菜嚢), vol.
mid February 1882
Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper
An Illustrated Mirror of Falconry, vol. 1, pt. 1
c. 1863–68
Woodblock printed book, ink on paper with mica
Soaring Birds #3
Woodblock print
Koichi Maeda (b. 1936)
Woodblock print
Horses in the Afternoon
Woodblock print
Number 187
Woodblock print
Mari Tahei hunting tigers
Woodblock print
A comic picture titled Kyosai hyakukyo, doke hyakumamben, triptych, 1864
Woodblock print
Ema- F
Woodblock print
Cheerful Afternoon
Woodblock print
Two Blackbirds in Forest
Woodblock print
Fighting Bulls in Iyo
Woodblock print
Crabs in shallow water
Woodblock print
Kunio Kaneko (b. 1949)
2010
Woodblock print
Saddle
1963
Color woodblock print; edition 72/80
Pair of Japanese Grosbeaks
Woodblock print
Blue and Red Macaws
Woodblock print
five horses running
Woodblock print
Running Horses B (Sôma B), Shôwa period, dated 1967
Woodblock print
CHORUI (birds) SA
Woodblock print
Chryanthemums and Black-headed Munia
Woodblock print
Three Birds
Woodblock print
Ukai, cormerant fishing
Woodblock print
two kittens
Woodblock print
Sakai Koichi
Woodblock print
Fledgling
Woodblock print
Emperor Yurako hunting at Mount Katsuragi
Woodblock print
Red Coat
Woodblock print
CHORUI (birds) 77 102
Woodblock print
Cormorants
Woodblock print
Nesting Sparrows
Woodblock print
Number 170
Woodblock print
Incarnation
1958
Color woodblock print
Zoo in Early Fall
Woodblock print
Three Horses
1940
Color woodblock print
Bulls Fighting
Woodblock print
Path of the Antelope (Kamoshika no michi)
1960
Ink on paper
Black horses
Woodblock print
Kuma 921
Woodblock print
Fugen Bosatsu
1960
Woodblock print
Gold Fishes
Woodblock print
Dachshund
1955
Color woodblock print; edition 25/80
Galloping Horses
Woodblock print
Hokkaidô A (Cows), Shôwa period, dated 1961
Woodblock print
Inside a Cage
Woodblock print
Zebras, Mure no naka nite (Inside the Herd)
Woodblock print
Two Ducks in a Lilypond, Taishô period, dated 1920 (9th Year of the Taishô Era)
Taishô period, 1912-1926
Woodblock print
Staring
Woodblock print
Weasel
c. 1920s
Woodblock print
Sealion Series: Sunset at Sea
2023
Mokuhanga
Sealion Series: Misty Rainbow
2023
Mokuhanga
Sealion Series: Moon over Sea
2023
Mokuhanga
Sealion Series: Sleeping at the Seashore
2023
Mokuhanga
Onaga-dori
Woodblock print
Cranes in the Wetland
Woodcut
To the future (fox)
Ink painting
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.