<
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-quirky-medieval-manga-is-the-cutest-japanese-history-lesson-ever>
'At first glance, it looks like a piece of historical whimsy: a sequential,
pictorial account of rats scurrying about in preparation for a wedding feast.
Inked sometime between 1550 and 1650 CE, during Muromachi, Azuchi–Momoyama, or
Edo Japan, the anonymous picture scroll titled
Nezumi no sōshi emaki –
The
Illustrated Rat's Tale – is more than an interesting bit of art history.
While early Japanese picture scrolls are considered by some to be the precursor
to the manga art form that blossomed and boomed in the 20th century, this
particular illustrated fantasy contains valuable information about how food was
prepared in medieval Japan.
"There were quite a few stories written in medieval and early modern Japan
about rats, and many of these became picture scrolls combining illustrations
with text," says University of Kansas historian Eric Rath.
"But what sets this example apart are the detailed scenes of cooking. There is
only one other picture scroll that depicts cooking scenes for this period, so
as a food historian, I wanted to see what I could learn from this rat story."'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
