I wondered if there were cats in Japanese paintings, and when I looked into it, I found that there were a lot of them. And they were all old-fashioned, cool, and cute! I would like to unravel the secrets of some of the cats that particularly caught my eye and their artists!
What are cats like in Japanese paintings?
Cats have a cute appearance and whimsical personality that captivates people's hearts.
Cats have been a familiar presence among common people since the Edo period, and are depicted in many Japanese paintings.
It's as if this is similar to the behavior of modern cat lovers who try to capture cute cats in photos.
His Japanese paintings of cats are highly acclaimed overseas, and are so popular that exhibitions draw large crowds.
Among them, the works of ukiyo-e artists, who depict a colorful and humorous world, are especially popular among cat lovers.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, known as a genius ukiyo-e artist, is not only known for his cute drawings, but also for his many anthropomorphic cats, including those that have been transformed into monster cats and those that behave almost like humans.
Kuniyoshi's passion and style were passed down to his apprentice artists, and comparing the cats drawn by each artist is one of the joys of cat lovers.
The more you learn about the world of cats in Japanese paintings, the more fascinating it becomes. Let's take a look at the characteristics and masterpieces of each artist.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi's Cat
All of his works are fantastical and bold.Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who is said to have had the temperament of an Edokko who loved fires and fighting, is also known as an ukiyo-e artist who had a great love for cats.
Kuniyoshi's love of cats is vividly expressed in an ukiyo-e print that is thought to be a self-portrait.
The man, surrounded by several cats, has a scene of hell painted across the back of his jacket, a work that is full of Kuniyoshi's typical irony and humor.
It's amazing that he had a cat Buddhist altar in his home, and displayed the memorial tablets with the posthumous posthumous names of his deceased cats.
Kuniyoshi's works, drawn with his love of cats and keen observational eye, are all full of irresistible charm for cat lovers.
One of his most famous works is "Fifty-three Cat Breeders," which is a pun on the famous painting "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido," depicting famous places from Nihonbashi to Kyoto, and is titled "Fifty-three Cat Breeders."
The illustration, which is a pun on "Nihonbashi" (Nihonbashi Bridge) as "two dashi," shows a cat pulling out two bonito flakes.
In "Fukuroi," the cat is depicted as "in a bag," a common sight where the cat's head gets stuck in a bag and cannot get out, and the idea is sure to bring a smile to your face.
Also, the Tenpo Reforms meant that depicting courtesans and kabuki actors in ukiyo-e was banned, and so the world of anthropomorphized cats was born.
This ukiyo-e print depicts a cat in a hakama playing with a ball, highlighting the cat's cuteness.
The yokai cat "Nekomata," drawn with a touch that looks like graffiti, is said to have been the model for Fujio Akatsuka's "Nyarome."
His style is diverse, from ghost cats to cute cats, and he is one artist I would highly recommend to cat lovers.
Utagawa Yoshifuji's Cat
Utagawa Yoshifuji, one of Utagawa Kuniyoshi's disciples, was an ukiyo-e artist who created many "toy pictures" for children, such as kumie and toy pictures. His expressiveness and popularity are so great that he is nicknamed "Toy Yoshifuji."
Because omocha-e were pictures that children would actually play with and enjoy, they were often discarded, and it is said that few remain today.
One of Yoshifuji's most famous cat paintings is "The Cat Monster of the Fifty-three Stations," a large-format nishiki-e (colored woodblock print) based on the story of Onoe Baishu.
The way the nine cats, large and small, make up the face of the monster cat is thought to have been influenced by his master, Utagawa Kuniyoshi's popular work "Mikakehakohai ga tonda ii hito da" (He looks scary but he's a really nice person).
Another work known for its cat illustrations that use the "hame-e" technique is "Collect Kittens and Make a Big Cat."
A large calico cat lying sideways is depicted as a group of 19 cats upon closer inspection.
In the blank space, it is written, "The artist has collected 19 small kittens and made one big cat by accident." "Wazakure" means mischievous.
This work shows that the playful spirit of an artist inherited from Kuniyoshi has been passed down to his apprentice, Yoshifuji.
Ikuhide Kobayashi's Cat
Kobayashi Ikuei was an active ukiyo-e artist during the Meiji period.He created many works that evoked the arrival of a new era, such as genre paintings featuring people in Western clothing and railway nishiki-e prints.
Among Kobayashi Ikuei's cat paintings, the most widely known are "Cats Playing" and "Cat Hot Spring."
Both works use vibrant colors such as red, blue, and green to vividly depict the anthropomorphized cats.
In "Cat Play," cats play a major role as street performers in the town of Edo.
The surrounding area is filled with images of a mother cat and her kitten looking on, as well as sounds of musical instruments and lines written in, making it seem as though you can hear the lively voices.
"Cat Onsen" is set in a public bathhouse and depicts anthropomorphized tabby cats enjoying the bath in their own way.
Cats taking off and putting on kimonos on the tatami mats, or washing themselves naked, look just like humans.
If you look closely, you'll see that it's actually a human washing the big cat's back!
You can sense Kobayashi Ikue's spirit as an artist, who never forgets to have fun.
Cats by Utagawa Hiroshige III
Utagawa Hiroshige III was an ukiyo-e artist active from the Edo to Meiji periods.From the first Utagawa Hiroshige, artists who called themselves Hiroshige continued up to the fifth generation, but it was only Hiroshige III who produced numerous paintings of famous places as an ukiyo-e artist.
He has painted many Yokohama paintings and Bunmei-e paintings depicting the transformation from the Edo to the Meiji era.
The masterpiece of cat paintings by Utagawa Hiroshige III is "Hyakumyogafu" (Illustrated Collection of One Hundred Cats).
It was originally a collection of illustrations and prose in the magazine Robun Chinpo by the Meiji-era author Kanagaki Robun.
Hiroshige III, who was in charge of the illustrations, has drawn the tabby and white cats with a touch that conveys warmth and softness.
A cat that looks pleased when its chin is stroked, and a cat that climbs a tree in the garden.
Also, all of the illustrations, such as a cat scratching its claws on a pillar, make you think, "Hiroshige must have loved cats too."
The adorable cat sketches drawn by Hiroshige III are still popular today, appearing on tenugui towels and postcards.
summary
Cats have been depicted in Japanese paintings by famous artists from the Edo to Meiji periods.Each of these works is filled with the rich imagination and love of cats of the artists of the time.
It would be a shame not to know about the cats in Japanese paintings, which are not only cute but also humorous and full of humanity!
If you're a cat lover, be sure to take this opportunity to check out the world of cats in Japanese paintings.
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