Japanese artist accuses Indian creator of plagiarising her tiger artwork presented to Environment minister

Masayo San said she had tried contacting the organisers and IBCA but had not heard back from any of them.

A dispute over alleged artistic plagiarism came to public attention after Japanese paper-cut specialist Masayo San, known online as @kiriken16, stated that one of her 2020 tiger illustrations had been reproduced without her approval and displayed at a formal event in India. The version presented in India had been attributed to Indian artist Vikas Tomar and was handed to Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav during the Global Big Cats Photography Competition awards ceremony in October 2025, a government-linked programme.

A community note added beneath the Indian Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) post on X claimed: “Vikas Tomar ‘hand crafted’ tiger paper artwork is a stolen art from Japanese artist @kiriken16. It was cut and copy from the original artist’s tiger without permission.”

Global Big Cats Photography Competition 2025

Dr @SPYadavIFS, Director General, IBCA, extended a warm welcome to all dignitaries, officials of the Ministries, winners, participants during the award ceremony and outlined the vision of establishing a global platform for big cat… pic.twitter.com/8Ic7ewgeVk — International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) (@IBCA_official) October 9, 2025

Masayo’s 2020 work depicted a tiger’s head positioned within a broader composition of several animals, executed in her characteristic cut-paper method. The artwork attributed to Tomar featured the same tiger’s head enlarged and presented in a frame as a three-dimensional piece. Masayo stated that the two images were close enough for her to recognise the source immediately and said she had not been informed, approached, or acknowledged.

She posted side-by-side comparisons on Instagram to raise the alarm publicly. Alongside the images, she wrote: “At an official ceremony in India attended by the Minister of Environment, an item that plagiarized my work was being presented to the Minister of Environment. I sent emails to various parties, but received no response from anywhere. Is it okay to silently condone such a thing? I want to convey to the whole world that this work is mine.”

/a>#pic.twitter.com/BYkdUPOjCw &mdash December 2, 2025

Masayo said she had tried contacting the organisers and IBCA but had not heard back from any of them.

The controversy expanded rapidly on social platforms, with comments coming from both Japan and India. Users questioned how a piece resembling a known artwork could be presented at an event dedicated to wildlife conservation.

One commenter urged Masayo to speak more visibly on English-language platforms, saying: “Raise this issue here in English, Indian Twitter won’t let you down. Indian social media can do wonders what embassies can’t. Hey @SPYadavIFS, you owe the original creator an apology for presenting his work as your own. This brings unnecessary embarrassment to the country, and it shouldn’t be tolerated by anyone, including @byadavbjp.”

Here is S P Yadav, IFS, felicitating Minister Bhupendra Yadav with a 3D tiger paper artwork, 'handcrafted by' artist Vikas Tomar, at the Global Big Cats Alliance photography event in Oct 2025.

Everything seemed fine until Japanese paper artist @kiriken16 pointed out that the… pic.twitter.com/M6x6XtkQpX — THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) December 4, 2025

"Multiple big Indian handles are raising this issue. So sorry this happened to you but Indian twitter won’t let you down. Everyone is fighting for your rightful credit," a user added.

Meanwhile, neither the Environment Ministry nor IBCA had made any public comment on the matter as of now. Social media users have continued to appeal for an apology, the removal of the disputed piece from Tomar’s online profiles, and clarity on how the artwork came to be featured at an official ceremony.