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Adorable, whimsical pictures of animals painted by old-school Japanese masters

Krista Rogers Sep 28, 2015
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Japanese ukiyo-e painters from the Edo period (1603-1868) are now famous throughout the world for their exquisite woodblock prints depicting everyday Japanese life and the natural world. Such master painters are less well-known, however, for their humorous contributions to the art world, which often feature whimsical scenes of anthropomorphic animals. Fortunately for us, though, these types of pictures are experiencing a recent wave of popularity among Japanese Internet users, and these images are simply too cute for us to just pass up. We’ve got fish, cats, puppies, monkeys, and a few more surprises from the masters in store for you after the jump!

Let’s begin with some fish, aquatic critters, and our favorite animals in the world — cats!

鳥獣戯画展のグッズ、早く発表されないかなー。歌川国芳の戯画もよい。猫も可愛いけど、金魚のもたまらなく可愛い(･Θ･｡)э pic.twitter.com/xvIgdb9aQK

— 白ねこ (@snow_neko) April 16, 2015

歌川国芳「金魚づくし」/東博
可愛い〜（≧∇≦）3/15迄 #Bura_Bi_Now pic.twitter.com/A69HKB37we

— 小栗まこ (@ogurimako) March 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/ele6c/status/622000772151029760

【いつだって猫展】化け猫の浮世絵に登場する手拭いを被って楽しそうに踊る2匹の猫。表情がとっても可愛らしいにゃ～。歌川国芳「五拾三次之内岡崎の場」部分個人蔵 pic.twitter.com/PsOZCyxl4C

— もしも猫展＠前売券発売中にゃ！ (@MOSHIMONEKOTEN) March 26, 2015

All of the prints above can be attributed to Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1797-1861), an ukiyo-e master who lived in the waning years of the Edo Period. A lover of cats, he always had several, and sometimes over a dozen, roaming about. He even had a Buddhist altar dedicated to cats and kept a cat death register at his house. Here’s his take on his contemporary Hiroshige’s famous The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, imagined as if all of the stations were cats!

https://twitter.com/seiryuu_y/status/506414896322318336

Now, on to the puppies!

Okyo Maruyama (1733-1795), known for his blend of Western realism and Eastern aesthetics, was also apparently really good at painting adorable, melt-your-heart puppies:

円山応挙の犬見てると心がぴょんぴょんしてくる pic.twitter.com/OE2z6jKWvb

— TTI_JAZZ (@TTI_JAZZ) March 15, 2015

円山応挙が描く子犬のコロコロ感は反則 pic.twitter.com/Akdk8tOO9W

— ボヘミアン (@hide_luxe) August 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/znkoyy/status/614088705981091840

府中市美術館の動物絵画の250年行ってきた。円山応挙や伊藤若冲の絵も多くあり、中でもこのわんこの絵が一番可愛らしかった。
行った日が平日だったせいか、あまり人がいなくて思う存分絵を堪能できた（≧∇≦） pic.twitter.com/8ugrcfurUf

— Java子さん (@taikotataki0802) April 8, 2015

▼ A bonus–were tigers always that round…?

ハルカスに来てる円山応挙の虎見たい♡なんか可愛い！虎ってこんな丸かったっけなあ。 pic.twitter.com/b1B4Tccaud

— ゆうり (@5421For) June 8, 2015

Here’s what happened when Maruyama’s pupil, Rosetsu Nagasawa (1754-1799), tried painting a cute puppy:

https://twitter.com/udon_new_type/status/502771910728351744

We’ve featured Nagasawa’s work before, and he can certainly hold his own in a painting contest. Here’s one more to round it off:

なめきった顔をした長沢芦雪の猿。吹き出しをつけるなら「ばーか」 pic.twitter.com/85X6vh5yi7

— 佐藤晃子 (@akisato_) June 11, 2014

Also, remember this painting of a gibbon reaching for the moon’s reflection? We can thank Jakuchu Ito (1716-1800) for that irresistible classic and the following humorous pictures.