Long before Kagemaru Himeno’s name was attached to one of the most recognizable promo Pikachu illustrations in the hobby, she was drawing manga for RIBON Original starting in 1994. The Pokemon Trading Card Game caught up to her a few years later, and her illustrations have appeared on cards ever since — from the original Jungle-era Eeveelutions to Radiant Rare full-art treatments released decades on.
Himeno’s card catalog isn’t the largest among Japanese TCG illustrators, but it’s a distinctive one: soft watercolor rendering, bright and vivid palettes balanced with softer shadow tones, and a habit of leaving small white flecks of light across her paintings that collectors have come to recognize on sight. Her most famous single piece — the so-called Birthday Pikachu — has been reprinted more than once, most recently in a 25th Anniversary promo pack that we currently carry in PSA 10.
This guide walks through who Kagemaru Himeno is, the Jungle-era Eeveelutions that opened her TCG career, the Birthday Pikachu lineage, her later legendary-era work, and every Himeno card currently in our PSA 10 vault — in stock or not.
Kagemaru Himeno is a Japanese writer and illustrator whose Pokemon TCG work began with the Jungle expansion and now spans roughly 635 TCG cards plus 55 TCG Pocket cards. Four Himeno cards have passed through our PSA 10 vault — two in stock today — led by the Birthday Pikachu 25th Anniversary promo (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), currently listed at ¥116,070, and the Altaria U 1ED CP3 029/032 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), currently listed at ¥30,694.
Who Is Kagemaru Himeno?
Kagemaru Himeno was born July 24, 1972, in Kanagawa Prefecture, and works as both a writer and an illustrator. She goes by the nickname “Himemaru” among fans, and Bulbapedia’s artist page uses she/her throughout. Her professional career predates the Pokemon TCG entirely — she began contributing manga-style illustrations to RIBON Original in 1994, well before her first Pokemon card was printed.
Himeno’s Pokemon TCG debut came with the Jungle expansion, and per Bulbapedia her output since then totals 635 main-TCG cards plus 55 cards in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket. That’s a smaller catalog than some of the franchise’s most prolific illustrators, but it spans nearly the entire history of the TCG, from the earliest English-language holo rares through recent Radiant and Secret Rare prints.
Stylistically, Bulbapedia describes Himeno’s work as built on watercolors, “often uses bright and vivid colors with softer tones to highlight areas of light and shadow,” and notes a recognizable habit of adding soft white flecks across her images. Her later work is described as showing “a sharper eye for detail, resulting in more crisp images with more adventurous backgrounds” — a shift that’s visible if you compare her 1990s Jungle-era Eeveelutions to her more recent Radiant Rare and Secret Rare full-art prints.
Himeno’s catalog sits alongside other Japanese illustrators we track closely, including Mitsuhiro Arita and Kirisaki, both of whom have their own guides covering their most notable printings.
The Jungle-Era Eeveelutions
Himeno’s TCG career opens with one of the hobby’s classic subsets: the original Jungle Eeveelutions.
She illustrated Flareon (Jungle #3), Jolteon (Jungle #4), and Vaporeon (Jungle #12), three of the original Jungle holo rares, alongside the non-holo Eevee (Jungle #51). Together these four cards form the backbone of the earliest Eeveelution set in the TCG’s history, and they’re a large part of why Himeno’s name is familiar to longtime Jungle-era collectors even outside the promo-card crowd.
The Eeveelutions didn’t stay confined to Jungle. Himeno’s Flareon and Jolteon artwork was reprinted in the Legendary Collection set (Flareon #10, Jolteon #14, both Holo Rare), giving her early-career illustrations a second life for a new generation of collectors years after the originals were printed. She also illustrated Umbreon (Sandstorm #24, Rare) — her only credited Umbreon print in either the English or Japanese Limitless databases, distinct from the various Umbreon alternate arts and shiny prints that have circulated in more recent sets under other artists.
None of the four original Jungle Eeveelutions are currently in our PSA 10 vault, but they remain the foundation of Himeno’s TCG reputation and the clearest starting point for anyone building a Himeno-specific collection.
Birthday Pikachu: Himeno’s Signature Card
If Himeno has one card that collectors associate with her name above all others, it’s Birthday Pikachu.
The original print was a Wizards Black Star Promo (#24), and the same artwork was later reprinted as part of the Celebrations Classic Collection (#CC8), where the card page explicitly credits “Illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno.” A related Pikachu illustration also appears as an Ultra Rare in Generations Radiant Collection (#RC29). Across three different releases spanning different eras of the TCG, Himeno’s Pikachu work has proven to be some of her most consistently reprinted material.
The copy we currently hold in PSA 10 is a Japanese 25th Anniversary Promo Card Pack print, S8a-P 007/025 — Himeno’s Birthday Pikachu artwork, reprinted in the 25th Anniversary promo pack, and currently listed at ¥116,070 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order). It’s the highest-priced Himeno card currently in stock in our vault and the clearest entry point for anyone specifically chasing her most recognizable illustration.
Because the Birthday Pikachu artwork has circulated across a Wizards-era English promo, an English Celebrations reprint, and a Japanese 25th Anniversary promo pack print, collectors sometimes only realize after the fact that all three trace back to the same original illustration rather than three separate Pikachu paintings.
Legendary and Modern-Era Work
Beyond the Eeveelutions and Pikachu, Himeno’s catalog includes a run of legendary and box-art-caliber Pokemon spanning two decades of the TCG.
Charizard (Arceus #1, Holo Rare) and Arceus (Arceus #AR7, Holo Rare) both carry her credit, placing her alongside some of the most recognizable box-art Pokemon of the Diamond & Pearl era. She also illustrated Mew (Secret Wonders #15, Holo Rare), Snorlax (FireRed & LeafGreen #15, Holo Rare), and Reshiram (Legendary Treasures #RC22), an Ultra Rare full-art print from the Black & White era.
Her more recent work shifts toward Radiant and Secret Rare treatments: Radiant Eternatus (VSTAR Universe s12a 115/172, Radiant Rare) and Phoebe (Single Strike Master S5I 080/070, Secret Rare) both show the “sharper eye for detail” and more adventurous backgrounds that Bulbapedia notes in her later output. She’s also credited on Jirachi (XY Black Star Promo #XY112) and Eevee V (SWSH Black Star Promo #SWSH065), both English-language promo prints.
Two of her more elaborate special-art prints — a Charizard & Braixen-GX Secret Rare from the Japanese Remix Bout set and a Vileplume GX Secret Rare from Dream League — have both passed through our PSA 10 vault. Neither is currently in stock, but both are covered in the vault table below with their most recent listed prices.
The Kagemaru Himeno Vault: Every Card We Carry
All four Kagemaru Himeno cards that have passed through our PSA 10 vault. Two are currently in stock — the Birthday Pikachu 25th Anniversary promo and the Altaria from Pokekyun Collection — and two are archive references you can request through Quick Order.
| # | Card | Number / Set | Status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charizard & Braixen GX SA | SM11a 068/064, Remix Bout | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | last listed ¥159,723 |
| 2 | Birthday Pikachu (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S8a-P 007/025, 25th Anniversary Promo Card Pack | In Stock | ¥116,070 |
| 3 | Vileplume GX SR | SM11b 062/049, Dream League | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | last listed ¥23,278 |
| 4 | Altaria U 1ED (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | CP3 029/032, Pokekyun Collection | In Stock | ¥30,694 |
Two of the four are currently in stock. The two Secret Rare special-art prints are out of stock, shown with their last-listed prices — if you’re specifically after the Charizard & Braixen GX SA or Vileplume GX SR, the Quick Order page is the fastest way to flag interest for when a copy comes back through the vault. Himeno’s catalog is smaller and less promo-saturated than some other illustrators we track, so this exact list of four tends to move slowly — new PSA 10 copies of her Jungle-era Eeveelutions or Legendary Collection reprints would be the most likely additions over time.
Beyond the Cards: Himeno’s Manga Work
Himeno’s career outside the TCG runs largely through manga and guidebook illustration. She’s the author of How I Became a Pokemon Card, a six-volume manga series published between 1999 and 2001, with each chapter built as a standalone story centered on one Pokemon — a structure that mirrors the card-by-card nature of her TCG work.
She also contributed to Pokemon Tales manga across multiple issues between 1997 and 2000, worked on Pokemon Card GB guidebooks and accompanying comics, and illustrated for Pokemon Gold & Silver Tales. On the merchandise side, her credits extend to Sinnoh-myth-themed TCG key art and card sleeve designs.
Taken together, Himeno’s body of work reads less like a single-medium specialist and more like a writer-illustrator whose Pokemon output happened to include some of the franchise’s most reprinted single pieces of card art, anchored by Birthday Pikachu and the original Jungle Eeveelutions.
Where to Buy Kagemaru Himeno Cards from Japan
We stock PSA 10-graded Japanese singles out of Tokyo, and the Birthday Pikachu 25th Anniversary promo leads our current Himeno lineup. It’s the top-priced in-stock Himeno listing in our vault, alongside the more accessible Altaria from Pokekyun Collection.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
For the Altaria U 1ED from Pokekyun Collection, currently listed at ¥30,694 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), it’s a more affordable way into Himeno’s later-era work. For the wider PSA 10 catalog, browse our PSA 10 card list to filter by set and price, and for anything currently out of stock — including the Charizard & Braixen GX SA and Vileplume GX SR — the Quick Order page is the fastest way to build a request.
If you’re building out a wider illustrator collection alongside Himeno’s work, our guides to Mitsuhiro Arita and Kirisaki cover two more Japanese illustrators whose catalogs we track closely, with their own PSA 10 vault breakdowns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kagemaru Himeno?
Kagemaru Himeno is a Japanese writer and illustrator, born July 24, 1972, in Kanagawa Prefecture. She began illustrating for the Pokemon TCG with the Jungle expansion and has since illustrated roughly 635 TCG cards plus 55 TCG Pocket cards.
What is the Birthday Pikachu card?
Birthday Pikachu is Himeno’s most reprinted single illustration, first issued as Wizards Black Star Promo #24 and later reprinted in the Celebrations Classic Collection (#CC8) and as a Japanese 25th Anniversary Promo Card Pack print (S8a-P 007/025). Our PSA 10 copy of the 25th Anniversary print is currently listed at ¥116,070.
Did Kagemaru Himeno illustrate the original Jungle Eeveelutions?
Yes. Himeno illustrated Flareon (Jungle #3), Jolteon (Jungle #4), and Vaporeon (Jungle #12), three of the original Jungle holo rares, plus the non-holo Eevee (Jungle #51). Her Flareon and Jolteon artwork was later reprinted in the Legendary Collection set.
Are all Kagemaru Himeno cards in our vault currently in stock?
No. Of the four Himeno cards that have passed through our vault, two are currently in stock — the Birthday Pikachu 25th Anniversary promo and the Altaria U 1ED from Pokekyun Collection. The Charizard & Braixen GX SA and Vileplume GX SR are currently out of stock and can be requested through our Quick Order page.
Has Kagemaru Himeno illustrated any Legendary Pokemon cards?
Yes. Her catalog includes Charizard and Arceus from the Arceus set, Reshiram from Legendary Treasures, and Radiant Eternatus from the Japanese VSTAR Universe set, among others.
What has Kagemaru Himeno worked on outside the TCG?
Himeno is the author of the six-volume manga How I Became a Pokemon Card (1999–2001), and she contributed to Pokemon Tales manga, Pokemon Card GB guidebooks and comics, and Pokemon Gold & Silver Tales. She has also produced Sinnoh-myth-themed TCG key art and card sleeve designs.
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