"Choju-Giga ( Choju-Jinbutu-Giga , [Frolicking Animals and People]) consists of four volumes of satirical drawings that have belonged to Kozanji Monastery, Kyoto, since the 12 th and 13 th centuries. The true artist, or artists remain unknown, but Toba Sojo (1053-1140), who is also known as Kakuyu, is credited with being a main source of the first two scrolls because a painting carrying his name that is similar to this work remains even today. But no existing indisputable evidence supports this belief". Quote from The Physiological Society Of Japan These delightful pictures are beyond incredible, showing a lightness of approach only seen in Western art in the marginalia of illustrated manuscripts.  There are also Egyptian sketches of anthro animals found occasionally from thousands of years ago, just whimsical as can be.  But there is nothing like the Choju - Giga until the rise of cartooning in the 18th century.   From the Smithfield ...