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
Dipping for Goldfish, Tokyo, from the series "Twelve Scenes of Tokyo"
1928
Color woodblock print on silk
Brocade Carp from the series "Great Japanese Fish Picture Collection (Dai nihon gyorui gashu)"
1937
Color woodblock print
Taiwan Pavilion, from the series "Prints of the Shinjuku Imperial Garden (Shinjuku Gyoen hanga)"
1949
Color woodblock print
Lions in the Sky
Poured washi with phosphorescent pigments
Child Cate (W)
Woodblock print
Fishing for Cormorants at Nagaragawa
Woodblock print
Untitled (tsuchiya-koitsu)
Woodblock print
Imhae Pavilion, Kyongju, Korea, from the series "Korean Views Supplement" (Zoku Chosen fukei, Chosen Keishu Rinkaitei
1940
Color woodblock print
Hokusai Reborn: Buddhist Deity on Dragon
2023
Woodblock print
Carp and Cherry
c. 1949
Color woodblock print
Relaxing (Ikoi), from the series "Ten Types of Female Nudes (Rajo jusshu)"
1935
Color woodblock print
Dogwood 2
2001
Color woodblock print; edition 128/200
Fish - C
1957
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Carp under wisteria
ca. 1915
Fishing Boats
c. 1916
Color woodblock print
Playing cats
Woodblock print
Sun & Fish
c. 1980
Mezzotint, ink and color on paper
Blow Fish Lantern No.8
Woodblock print
Kingfisher in the rain
Woodblock print
Cats
1957
Color woodblock print
Sweet Fish Fisherman
Woodblock print
Huam Carp07164
Woodblock print
Catching fireflies — Hotaru-gari
Woodblock print
Bakufu Ohno Familiar Fishes Of Nippon Ugui
Woodblock print
Torch Lights on Fishing Boats- Cormorant Fishing
Woodblock print
Fishermen
1912
Color woodcut
Summer Vacation
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Carp in Pond
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Firefly Catching
July 1931
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Brocade Carp- Higoi — ヒゴイ
Woodblock print
Goldfish
Woodblock print
Three Fish
Woodblock print
The Old Fisherman, Japan (Le Vieux Pêcheur, Japon)
1936
Color woodblock print
Butterfly
c.1920
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Nakamura Utaemon V as Yodogimi (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Nakamura Utaemon V)
Woodblock print
Butterfly
Etching
Goldfish
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Leaping Carp
Woodblock print
Fabrication (Inclusion)
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Hawaiian Fisherman
1910
Woodblock print
Hawaiian Fisherman, John Hano-Hano Pa
1916
Woodblock print
Original Print from the publication Kyoto Woodcuts, Shôwa period, circa 1960-1978
Woodblock print
Butterfly and Blue Flower
Woodblock print
Gold Pavilion - Spring
Woodblock print
Fishing Village - Gyoson
Woodblock print
Tsukiji fish market, from
Woodblock print
Fisherman
1906
woodcut
Golden Pavilion - Kinkakuji
Woodblock print
Children and Carp Streamer
鯉のぼりと子供
c. 1906
Color woodblock print
Children Fishing
魚釣りをする子供
c. 1906
Color woodblock print
Catalog- complete works
Woodblock print
Unknown, child and butterfly
Woodblock print
Unknown- girl and goldfish- oban
Woodblock print
Iris and Kingfisher
菖蒲に翡翠
c. 1925
Color woodblock print
Kingfisher on Reed
葦に翡翠
c. 1910
Color woodblock print
Leaping Carp
跳ね鯉
c. 1926
Color woodblock print
Leaping Fish
before 1912
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Monkeys and Persimmon
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Carpenters
Woodblock print
Two Carp
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
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.