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
Armadillo
Silkscreen
Parents and Children - White Cats
Woodblock print
Cat Poses 13 - Blue Cat
Woodblock print
Senshi Bankou - Blue Cat (Deep Meditation)
Woodblock print
Black Cat Looking Back, Furikaeru (5)
Woodblock print
Wabi Cats X
Etching, paper collage on washi
Egret
1963
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Grizzly
Mokuhanga woodcut
Bear In Mind
Mokuhanga woodcut
Fore Bear
Mokuhanga woodcut
Birds F
Woodblock print
Harvard Art Museum
Woodblock print
Flying Away
Woodblock print
Flying
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Three Birds
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
A plate from
Woodblock print
Rainbow Serpent (34/100)
Woodblock print
Cartoons by Kyôsai (Kyôsai manga)
Woodblock print
Circus (Kyokuba)
Woodblock print
Hummingbirds and Fuchsia
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Gentoo Penguins
Woodblock print
Fighting Bulls in Iyo
Woodblock print
White Flounder
Woodblock print
Two Owls
Woodblock print
Dobutsuen- Zoo
Not set
Woodblock print
Huam Carp07721
Woodblock print
Woodpecker
1950s–1960s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Yellow Canary
Woodblock print
Toy Bull
Woodblock print
Galloping Horses
Woodblock print
a cat
Etching and mezzotint, oil-based ink
Quails and Bush Clover
Not set
Woodblock print
Kanzeon and Dolphin (AP)
Woodblock print
Unknown, ploughing ricefield
Woodblock print
Long Tail Cock
Woodblock print
Fox Moon
Woodblock print
The Dragon's Gift
Woodblock print
The Wolf Goddess
Woodblock print
Rainbow Rousseau - Pierre Loti's Cat
Silkscreen
Black Cat
Woodblock print
I Promise
Mokuhanga woodcut with handset letterpress text
Unseeable
Mokuhanga woodcut with handset letterpress text
The Example
Mokuhanga woodcut with handset letterpress text
Woman Performing Hobby Horse Dance
Woodblock print
Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains
Woodblock print
Noble Lady Dancing with Dead Lord's Helmet (Fox Spirits)
Woodblock print
Rabbit
Woodblock print
Noah's Ark
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.