Further on, the rabbits and monkeys are playing and wrestling while another group of animals participate in a funeral and frog prays to Buddha as the scroll closes.

They are a true fruit of the native wit; they owe nothing to China beyond a vague debt to her older artistic tradition; and they bear witness to that reaction against the solemnities of Buddhist art which we have noticed.Most think Toba Sōjō created Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, who created a painting a lot like Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga;[8] however, it is hard to verify this claim.

[10][11][12] The drawings of Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga are making fun of Japanese priests in the creator's time period, characterising them as toads, rabbits and monkeys.

[8][14] In Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga the animals were drawn with very expressive faces and also sometimes used "speed lines", a technique used in manga til this day.

[15] Emakimono like Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga and many others barely were seen in the public until they made their way into popular culture, with many common people imitating the style.

[6][8][17] The first scroll, which is considered the most famous, depicts various animals (frogs, rabbits and monkeys) frolicking as if they were human.

[22] A publication made for the anniversary of Chōjū-giga entitled Bijutsu Techō 2007 Nen 11 Gatsugō (美術手帖2007年11月号) was released on October 11, 2007, as a part of the Fine Arts Log (美術手帖) series.

[23] All four scrolls were published in actual size in their boxset publication entitled Chōjū Jinbutsu Giga released June 10, 2008.

[24] Exclusive to the Suntory Museum of Art exhibition of Chōjū-giga, the same company released a book entitled Kokuhō "Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga Emaki" no Zenbō-ten (国宝『鳥獣人物戯画絵巻』の全貌展).