King of Cats

Inagaki Tomoo (1902-1980)

猫の王様 – 稲垣知雄 (1902-1980)

Inagaki Tomoo is best known as a Japanese print artist who portrays playful cats in abstract compositions. He was a self-taught artist who began making sōsaku hanga, or creative prints, in 1924. Traditionally, Japanese artisans created woodblock prints in a studio system involving several artists and a publisher to produce one piece. By the early 20^th century, there was a new movement of individual artists making their own prints from design concept, to cutting the woodblocks, inking the woodblocks, printing, and distribution of the final product.

Inagaki Tomoo was one of these innovative artists. In the Morikami Museum Collection, we have a large grouping of notebooks, sketchbooks, drawings, paintings, and small-scale prints that demonstrates his versatility as an artist. The selection of over 100 items was a gift from William and Roberta Stein, owners of Floating World Gallery in Chicago. Some of the drawings and paintings are dated and range from 1923 to 1953, representing the early part of his career.

Like most art students, he began by studying other artists. One of the notebooks titled “Western Fine Arts,” includes handwritten notes (in Japanese) on various types of compositions and techniques used in the west and adopted by sōsaku hanga artists. Beautiful painted landscapes of the Japanese countryside on paper and small wooden panels show his mastery of Western perspective using a single vanishing point at the horizon, while maintaining an unusual point-of-view typical of Japanese aesthetics. A few figures, including a self-portrait of the artist sketching outdoors reflect his study of Western techniques. An abundance of flora and fauna also grace the pages of these sketchbooks and you can see a certain sensitivity to the phases of nature from sprouting shoots to decaying fruits.

An abundance of flora and fauna also grace the pages of these sketchbooks and you can see a certain sensitivity to the phases of nature from sprouting shoots to decaying fruits. This attention to detail in nature is very much a part of Japanese aesthetics. Inagaki explores this element in his sketches and still-life compositions.

Inagaki’s astute observations of the natural world are especially evident with his depictions of cats, which he started developing in 1951. Each feline has their own individual character, distinct moods, and unique expressions as they interact with one another. His later works are more abstract as he collapses the depth in the composition using large flat surfaces and distinct textures. The Morikami Museum recently purchased three woodblock prints to complete this unique set by a single artist.

These illustrations show us Inagaki’s design process from basic pencil sketches, to color drawings, then fully realized woodblock prints. Inagaki’s woodblock prints are in the collections of major museums throughout Europe, the U.S., and Japan. His work is highly sought after by private collectors, too. However, the Morikami is fortunate to care for and preserve his early work and sharing his entire artistic process. Inagaki Tomoo’s whimsical creations bring a smile to my face. We hope they do the same for you.

Learn More

Japanese Prints The Great Cat The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints