, commonly shortened to , is a famous set of four picture scrolls, or '' emakimono'', belonging to

Kōzan-ji , officially , is a Buddhist temple of the Omuro sect of Shingon Buddhism in Umegahata Toganōchō, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. Kōzan-ji is also known as Kōsan-ji and Toganō-dera. The temple was founded by the Shingon scholar ...

temple in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The ''Chōjū-giga'' scrolls 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 seems clear from the style that more than one artist is involved. The right-to-left reading direction of ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga '' is traditional in East Asia, and is still common in Japan. ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga '' is also credited as the oldest work of

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. The scrolls are now entrusted to the

Kyoto National Museum The is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. History The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Imp ...

and

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

. The scrolls are the earliest in a linear monochrome drawing style that was to continue in use in

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competiti ...

(as they are all done with the usual writing and painting brush, they count as painting).Paine and Soper, 139-140 As opened, the first scroll illustrates

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

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 The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

'' 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.

History

The ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' emakimono, belonging to the

temple in Kyoto, Japan as an ancient cultural property, are usually thought to have been painted in the mid-

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

, whereas the third and fourth scrolls may well date from the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

. Most think Toba Sōjō created ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'', who created a painting a lot like ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga''; however, it is hard to verify this claim. The drawings of ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' are making fun of Japanese priests in the creator's time period, characterising them as toads, rabbits and monkeys. ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' is read and rolled out from right to left which can still be seen in

and Japanese books. ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' is credited as being the oldest work of manga in Japan, and is a national treasure as well as many Japanese animators believe it is also the origin of Japanese animated movies. In ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' the animals were drawn with very expressive faces and also sometimes used "speed lines", a technique used in manga til this day. Emakimono like ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' and many others barely were seen in the public until they made their way into popular culture, with many common people imitating the style. Emakimono emerged very popular in the city of Ōtsu, Shiga, and being dubbed ''Ōtsu-e'' after its popularity in the city around the 17th century. The first two scrolls are entrusted to the

, and the second two are entrusted to the

. The scrolls currently on display at Kōzan-ji are reproductions.

''Emakimono''

The first scroll, which is considered the most famous, depicts various animals (frogs, rabbits and monkeys) frolicking as if they were human. There is no writing on any of the scrolls; they consist of pictures only. The first scroll is also the largest, with a length of 11 meters (36 ft) and 30 cm (1 ft) wide. As the first scroll is opened, rabbits and monkeys are bathing and swimming in a lake, moving on past the mountains, cliffs and trees are rabbits and frogs making bow and arrows. Further more, more rabbits and frogs are bringing pots and boxes to a (currently) unknown event. Frogs and rabbits pass by monks with their cattle (

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south t ...

) and a monkey runs away, supposedly stealing, and being chased by a rabbit with a long stick, further more a frog is lying on the floor who could have possibly been knocked over by the thief. Nearby, a celebration has started with two frogs dancing, and a group of animals having a conversation. Not too far from the celebration are animals wrestling and fighting and two monkeys holding a box. Far from the celebration are a group of animals at a funeral and a frog praying in front of a frog shaped Budai as the scroll closes.

Gallery

File:Chouju swimming.jpg, Panel from the first scroll, depicting animals swimming and bathing for the upcoming ceremony. File:Chouju monks.jpg, Panel from the fourth scroll, depicting monks sitting down and smoking their pipes. File:Chouju lilypad.jpg, Fragment from the first scroll Detail, depicting a frog holding a lilypad over a monk's head.

File:Chouju lions.jpg, Panel from the second scroll, lions roar and scratching their backs. File:Chouju3rdscroll animals.JPG, Panel from 3rd scroll with frogs and monkeys harrying an oxcart File:Kozan-ji stamp.jpg, Stamp for placed on the scrolls. File:A Scene of Sorcery.jpg, ''A Scene of Sorcery''　depicting foxes ('' kitsune''), 19th-century version

Publications

Four publications based on ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' have been released by the publisher Geijutsuhiroba. The first ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' book published by the company was which simply compiled the ''Chōjū-giga'' emakimono into one publication, released in February 2003, now out of print. A publication made for the anniversary of ''Chōjū-giga'' entitled was released on October 11, 2007, as a part of the series. All four scrolls were published in actual size in their boxset publication entitled ''Chōjū Jinbutsu Giga'' released June 10, 2008. Exclusive to the Suntory Museum of Art exhibition of ''Chōjū-giga'', the same company released a book entitled . ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga'' was also released in a ''shinsōbon'' (deluxe edition) by Misuzu Shobo. In 1991 a book by Shibundō entitled ''Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga to Okoe: Emaki'' was published and written by Nobuo Tsuji.

Disputes

The ''

'' newspaper with Kanta Ishida discussed different theories of what really is the "first manga".

Manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

, Seiki Hosokibara pointed to '' Shigisan-engi'' as the first manga in history. Ishida said that the scrolls be treated as masterpieces in their own right, and not be cubby-holed as just the origin of manga and they have no connection with contemporary manga and the domestic works people are familiar with today.

Notes

References

*Paine, Robert Treat, in: Paine, R. T. & Soper A, "The Art and Architecture of Japan", Pelican History of Art, 3rd ed 1981, Penguin (now Yale History of Art),

External links

Miho Museum page for ''Chōjū-giga''

Japanese

Tokyo National Museum page for ''Chōjū-giga''

English

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choju-Jinbutsu-Giga 12th-century manuscripts 13th-century manuscripts Monkeys in art Rabbits and hares in art Frogs in art Buddhist paintings Entertainment in Japan Illustration Culture of Japan Japanese paintings Anthropomorphic monkeys Manga Pantomime comics Comics about anthropomorphic rabbits and hares Comics about anthropomorphic frogs Comics about anthropomorphic monkeys National Treasures of Japan Paintings in the Tokyo National Museum History of art in Japan