Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga

Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga

Animals wrestling on the first scroll of Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga.
Material	Paper and ink.
Created	12th century and 13th century
Discovered	Scrolls were known since created.
Present location	Tokyo National Museum Kyoto National Museum

Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画^?, literally "Animal-person Caricatures"), commonly shortened to Chōjū-giga (鳥獣戯画^?, literally "Animal Caricatures") is a famous set of four picture scrolls, or emakimono, belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. 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. The scrolls are now entrusted to the Kyoto National Museum and Tokyo National Museum.

The scrolls are the earliest in a linear monochrome drawing style that was to continue in use in Japanese painting (as they are all done with the usual writing and painting brush, they count as painting).

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.