Visa required?

I am a Canadian professional artist/art instructor and have the opportunity to teach 2 day painting workshops in Japan at different times. This is a short term stay (around 2 weeks) - it seems that an Artist Visa does not allow for me to make earnings while visiting. I have no company to sponsor me for a Work Visa. Which Visa should I apply for?

it seems that an Artist Visa does not allow for me to make earnings while visiting.

It certainly does; in fact Artist is one of the few types which explicitly requires a paid activity. (For unpaid artistic activities, you need Cultural Activities.) Assuming you will get income which actually counts as income for immigration purposes, Artist seems to be the appropriate one, with your sponsor being the organisation which invites you in Japan.

Thank you for your reply. If it is required when filling out an application form for an Artist Visa to say what my earnings would be, we would not be able to know how much money I would make from the workshop since often people do not sign up until close to the date. I thought that a company sponsoring a worker had to prove a certain amount of a salary, etc. and state it on the visa application form. Maybe that applies to long term stay. I will go to consulate here in Canada and ask. You have given me hope!

The consulate will very probably just tell you to apply for a CoE, and bring it to them when you get it. The CoE application must be done with the Immigration bureau in Japan, presumably by your sponsor. The procedure and application forms are here: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/kanri/shyorui/01.html

Thank you for your suggestions.