Usagi (rabbit)

I have three rabbit paintings to share. The first is my copy (mosha模写) of a scene from a series of picture scrolls painted in the twelfth century (ca. 1180) by Tobasōjō Kakuyū(鳥羽僧正覚猷), a high priest thought to be Japan’s best painter from that era. Collectively, the scrolls are titled Chōjūjinbutsugiga 鳥獣人物戯画(Frolicking People and Animals). A shortened version of the name is Chōjūgiga. It is one of Japan’s national treasures. Chōjūgiga is comprised of four e-maki (picture scrolls). The second pair of scrolls may have been painted by a different person, possibly Jōchi. Chōjūgiga was an inspiration for artists making the first Japanese anime in the 1950s.