Overview
The work is a set of four ink handscrolls belonging to the temple Kōzan-ji in Kyoto; the first two scrolls date to the 12th century, in the late Heian period, and the last two to the 13th century, in the Kamakura period. They are traditionally attributed to the monk-painter Toba Sōjō (Kakuyū, 1053–1140), but modern scholarship doubts the attribution and holds that several hands were involved.
Description
The celebrated first scroll shows rabbits, frogs and monkeys bathing, wrestling and parodying human ceremonies. There is no text at all: the animals’ expressions and movements, rendered in fluent ink line, carry the story on their own.
History and legacy
All four scrolls are designated National Treasures. For its narrative drawing and expressive animals, the work is often described as a distant ancestor of manga.