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context: painting > early painting > buddhist painting
Choju Giga scrolls
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I have no idea what the hell is going on here |
This item rather appears out of nowhere in the 12th Century, very possibly by Toba sojo, 1053-1140. It's lots of animals doing all kinds of things. In the picture above, which I think is the end of the scrolls, it all looks very religious - the monkey is making some sort of offering to the frog, on a leaf very like the lotus behind most Buddha statues. It's hard to know what the intention is. Toba (the name toba-e has been used for caricature ever since) was a monk, and the tone seems entirely gentle - poking fun at human foibles, rather than trying to lance anything.