Chōjū-giga

A humorous scene featuring the three iconic rabbits and lively frogs from Chōjū-giga, engaging in playful antics.

The illustrations depict a sumo match between a rabbit and a frog, cheering rabbits, a frog triumphantly throwing a rabbit, and a rabbit tumbling through the air.

With the hope that people may live as vibrantly as these dynamic drawings, Shaku Hiroshi, a traditional craftsman of Kyoyaki/Kiyomizuyaki, has hand-painted Tachikichi’s Chōjū-giga tableware.

What is Chōjū-giga?

Chōjū-giga, a National Treasure of Japan, is a treasured artwork housed at Kōsan-ji Temple in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto.

This famous set of picture scrolls, officially titled "Chōjū Jinbutsu Giga" (Caricatures of Frolicking Animals and People), was created in the late Heian period.

It consists of four volumes—Kō, Otsu, Hei, and Tei—featuring anthropomorphized animals, both real and mythical.

The illustrations are drawn with simple yet expressive ink outlines, a technique known as hakubyō-ga (monochrome line drawing).