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giga@‹Y‰æ
KEY WORD :@art history / paintings
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Humorous or satiric paintings, or sketches or drawings done in fun. Typically, giga have human and animal figures that are painted in a simple manner using quick brushstrokes. In Chinese tradition, the literati called their own ink paintings giga, meaning that they painted them in fun as opposed to the works of professional painters. See *bokugi –n‹Y. The earliest giga are Asuka period scribblings in the margins or on the back of manuscript sheets. These were probably drawn by students who were copying Buddhist scriptures. Giga were sometimes graffiti-like in that they were drawn on hidden surfaces of Buddhist statues and architecture. A well-known 7c. example is the graffiti discovered on the hidden side of ceiling boards of *Kondou ‹à“° of Houryuuji –@—²Ž› in Nara. See *rakugaki —Ž‘. Sketchy brushwork similar to these scribblings is found in handscroll paintings *emaki ŠGŠª of comic popular tales dating from the Heian period, and later in the well-known illustrated handscroll painting of The Legends of Mt. Shigi, Shigisan engi emaki M‹MŽR‰‹NŠGŠª (12c; Chougosonshiji ’©Œì‘·ŽqŽ›, Nara). Exaggerated expressions and poses characteristic of giga are also found in these handscroll paintings. It is recorded that making comic, satiric paintings called *oko-e šjŒÄŠG was a popular aristocratic recreation in the Heian period. The first two characteristic oko-e are The Frolicking Animals and Humans, Choujuu jinbutsu giga ’¹bl•š‹Y‰æ (12c; Kouzanji ‚ŽRŽ›, Kyoto), in which animals are humorously painted in anthropomorphic poses. Comic and satiric elements are found in emaki of the Kamakura period such as The Tale of a Hapless Painter Eshi no soushi ŠGŽt‘Žq (first half of the 14c.; Imperial Collection) and became important in the illustrated popular tales of the Muromachi period either in handscroll or booklet *soushi-e ûŽqŠG format known as *otogi zoushi Œä‰Ÿ‘Žq. A different type of humorous painting appeared in the Kamakura period when the tradition of ink painting was imported from China. Following Chinese tradition, Zen eccentrics such as *Hotei •z‘Ü (Ch. Butai) and Hanshan and Shide *Kanzan Jittoku ŠŠŽREE“Ÿ, were often depicted humorously in a simplified manner using quick brushstrokes. Early Japanese examples of these paintings were done by monk painters of the 14c. such as Mokuan –ÙˆÁ (died ca. 1345) and Kaou ‰Â‰¥ (active in the 14c). Humorous portraits of Zen patriarchs and Taoist immortals continued to be produced in ink *suibokuga …–n‰æ, until the Edo period. In the early Edo period, the *Rinpa —Ô”h artists Tawaraya Soutatsu •U‰®@’B (?-ca.1640) and Ogata Kourin ”öŒ`Œõ—Ô (1658-1716) left many humorous ink paintings of legendary human figures. In the mid-Edo period, Zen Buddhist monks Hakuin ”’‰B (1685-1769) and Sengai åŠR (1750-1837) established a unique style using broad brushwork. The same subject matter was taken up in grotesque caricatures by the eccentrics, Soga Shouhaku ‘\‰äåJ”’ (1730-81) and Nagasawa Rosetsu ’·‘òåbá (1754-99). Various human figures, including Zen patriarchs, were depicted humorously by Southern school *nanga “ì‰æ artists such as Yosa Buson —^ŽÓ–³‘º (1716-84), whose work is often categorized as haiku painting *haiga ”o‰æ. Other types of popular Edo period giga: *ootsu-e ‘å’ÊG, indigenous us to Ootsu, Shiga preference and characterized by exaggerated figures drawn with broad brushstrokes; and *toba-e ’¹‰HŠG, named after the tradition of giga attributed to the priest Toba Soujou ’¹‰H‘m³ (1053-1140), which were wood-block prints showing figures of men in a comic or satiric way. A famous example of giga from the late Edo period is the 15 volume, wood-block, printed books Hokusai's Caricatures, Hokusai manga –kÖ–Ÿ‰æ (published from 1814 to 1879) by Katsushika Hokusai Š‹ü–kÖ (1760-1849).
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REFERENCES:
*manga –Ÿ‰æ
EXTERNAL LINKS: 
’¹bl•š‹Y‰æ’fŠÈ at Tokyo National Museum@@
NOTES
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(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.@No reproduction or republication without written permission.
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