Japanese Designer New Year’s Cards of 2026

japanese art, design and culture

Happy New Year of the horse! The year of the horse (uma-doshi) is said to be auspicious in Japan, not only because it represents strength, speed and energy, but because of the wordplay: umaku iku (meaning, “everything will work out”) has the word uma (horse) in it. For those reasons, 2026 can be a time for bold moves, adventure, and breaking free from old patterns. And as tradition goes, we’ve assembled a few nengajo from some of our favorite artists that features this year’s zodiac animal. We hope they will inspire everyone to have a dynamic and transformative year!

“Race up and up” – an inspiring message from designer Chisato Kishimoto.

A colorful, retro-pop card from illustrator Cohak Ame, featuring several auspicious objects related to the new year.

This is actually a full nihonga painting by artist Ayame Higuchi featuring a devine horse (神馬). It’s on view at Daimaru Tokyo department store at their 10th floor art gallery (through 1/13/2026).

Graphic designer Grape Logo Design specializes in original fonts, such as this one which reads 謹賀新年, the formal way of saying Happy New Year in Japanese.

This neon-pop card from Hiro Mizuno makes us so