Japanese Culture: Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga

Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画, lit. "Animal-person Caricatures"), commonly shortened to Chōjū-giga (鳥獣戯画, lit. "Animal Caricatures") is a famous set of four picture scrolls, or emakimono, belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The Chōjū-gigascrolls are also referred to as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans in English. Some think that Toba Sōjō created the scrolls; however, it is hard to verify this. The right-to-left reading direction of Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is still a standard method seen in modern manga and novels in Japan. Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is also credited as the oldest work of manga. The scrolls are now entrusted to the Kyoto National Museum and Tokyo National Museum.

As opened, the first scroll illustrates anthropomorphic rabbits and monkeys bathing and getting ready for a ceremony, a monkey thief runs from animals with sticks and knocks over a frog from the lively ceremony. Further on, the rabbits and monkeys are playing and wrestling while another group of animals participate in a funeral and frog prays to Buddha as the scroll closes.

The scrolls were also adapted into several novels published by Geijutsuhiroba, the first book simply compiled the scrolls into one publication, now out of print. One of the books participated as part of the company's Fine Arts Log series as well as some were exclusive to certain exhibitions. Other companies like Misuzu Shobo and Shibundō also published books based on the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga emakimono.

Although Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is sometimes credited as the first manga, there have been some disputes with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. Seiki Hosokibara pointed to the Shigisan-engi scrolls as the first manga, and Kanta Ishida explained that the scrolls should be treated as masterpieces in their own right.


Panel from the first scroll, depicting animals swimming and bathing for an upcoming ceremony.


Panel from the first scroll, depicting animals wrestling and fighting.


Panel from the first scroll, a monkey thief runs from animals with long sticks.


Fragment from the first scroll Detail, depicting a frog holding a lilypad over a monk's head.


Panel from the second scroll, lions roar and scratching their backs.


Panel from the 3rd scroll, picturing two people jokingly playing tug-a-war with their heads.


Panel from 3rd scroll


Panel from the fourth scroll, depicting monks sitting down and smoking their pipes.


Fragment from the fourth scroll, a man gets defeated in a wrestling match.


Panel from the fourth scroll, samurai listen to their leader speak carefully.

Source: Wiki

http://www.dubtopia.eu/japanese-culture/chōjū-jinbutsu-giga