In early 19th-century Japan, it became fashionable for the culturally sophisticated theatergoing population of Edo to entertain themselves at parties by imitating the voices and gestures of famous actors. As this fad spread, people began to expand their repertoires by mimicking animals, and as animal poses became all the rage at parties, writers and artists collaborated to produce illustrated books containing model examples of these poses. One such document written by poet Santo Kyoden in 1809 included copies of these Utagawa Toyokuni ukiyo-e prints of men imitating birds.

Crow pose

Hawk pose

Duck pose

The work, titled Harasuji Omuseki (?????), consisted of several volumes that also featured poses for animals other than birds. Waseda University has an online copy of Volume 3, which includes the animal poses below.

Chicken pose

Crane pose, Owl pose

Squid pose

Goby pose

Shrimp pose

Kage-e ("shadow pictures") -- a popular form of Edo-period woodblock print -- were appreciated by children and adults and commonly used as party gags. These pictures consist of two parts: a "shadow" image and a "real" image. The shadow image, which typically bears the shape of a common, easily identifiable object, is viewed first. The real image, viewed second, reveals the surprising true identity of the shadow.

Here's a nice example by ukiyoe master Kuniyoshi (ca. 1852). It shows what appear to be the silhouettes of goldfish...

But look again...

It's a flying tanuki crushing a hunter under the weight of its mammoth testicles.

Here are a few more kage-e by Hiroshige (ca. 1842). The shadows cast on shoji doors belong to men in interesting poses.

Pine tree

Uguisu (Japanese bush warbler) on a plum branch

Salt-dried fish

Kettle

Hawk

Stone lantern

Goose on a rock

[Related: Joge-e: Two-way pictures]