Cute puppies and octopus sex: A Japanese art exhibition reveals our fascination with animals

Philip Kennicott | The Washington Post | 30th May 2019

Animals, for the Japanese, figure prominently in their culture. They feature in the Shinto religion, sometimes with supernatural powers, other times representing human foibles. Animal iconography also appears in secular political and philosophical discourse. And, of course, there is contemporary kitsch. All in all, a very, very Japanese thing.