The world’s oldest anime Chojugiga and Justin Bieber’s favorite characters
Yoshie Doi
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 Scene where a monkey priest makes a memorial service to a frog |
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Choju Giga on the tableware of the restaurant (Ryori Ryokan Shiraume) Photographed on October 4, 2023
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Photographed on October 9, 2023 Wakasa Seikatsu
The season of autumn leaves is coming. Speaking of autumn leaves, the area around Kozhanji Temple in Takao is beautiful. The National Treasure of Kosanji Temple is the oldest anime in the world and is very famous.
Kyoto has many of Japan’s oldest things. When I researched it before, I think there were over 100 cases. Among them, the most valuable one is the Chojugiga of Kozanji Temple. The characters depicted in the sumi-e scrolls include frogs, rabbits, and monkeys.
An interesting story is drawn. It is said that the author is Toba Sojo Kakuyu, but it is said that it was created between the end of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period, and more than five people are said to have written all the volumes of Ko-Otsu-Hei-Tei. We can assume that he was involved. It is a long picture scroll with a total length of 44 meters. In the first volume Ko, frogs, rabbits, monkeys, cats, mice, etc. are drawn like humans. In the second volume Otsu, Although the heron is anthropomorphized and the culprit is the culprit in Otsumaki, a monkey acts as a temple and plays the role of a monk. As the author is a monk, this development makes sense. It seems that the monkey is responsible for bringing the frog and monkey together. Even just looking at the pictures, I’m excited by the interesting and adorable developments.
Fast forward to September 15, 2023, when Justin Bieber and his wife arrived in Kyoto, they stopped by the health food store Wakasa Seikatsu in Shijo Karasuma Higashi. Justin Bieber Couple took photos with Wakasa Life’s official characters “Bulbul-kun” and “Aiai-chan” and posted them on SNS, making them a hot topic all over the world. I heard from the staff that there are already visitors from Tokyo who are making pilgrimages to holy places. It only takes a moment to become a sacred place.
The world’s oldest anime Choju-Giga, Bulbul-kun, and Ai-Ai-chan are also characters from Kyoto, and although these cute, rounded characters that are typical of Kyoto date back about a thousand years, we have recently discovered that they all have one thing in common: animals with adorable facial expressions.
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