Biohistory Journal, Winter, 2005

Research: Index > Through the eyes of an anthropomorphized character

Through the eyes of an anthropomorphized character

The eye of observation fixed on a subject is common to both artistic expression and the study of living creatures. We consider observation to determine the expression linked to the understanding of essence.

A laughing, tumbling frog…a rabbit bounding around on its hind legs…the Scroll of Frolicking Animals (Choju giga), painted in ink with a light brushwork, is a painting of unparalleled appeal in its dynamism of anthropomorphized animals. The famous first scroll features such attractive animals as monkeys, foxes, cats, and owls, whose activities begin with frolicking in the water and continue with archery and sumo, playing musical instruments, and conducting a Buddhist service. In continuation, the second scroll is of a different nature, resembling an ecological field guide for animals or picture book. It depicts such familiar animals as cows, horses, and hawks, as well as such unusual or fictional bests as tigers and dragons.       A closer look reveals a richness of expression in the animals of the second scroll, however. While the animals of the first scroll walk about on two legs, wear clothes, and purport themselves as humans, the animals of the second scroll seem to have a human spirit despite their conduct as animals. This gives them a greater familiarity than the anthropomorphized animals of the first scroll. Neither a satire of human society nor a fairy tale, the scrolls reveal the heart of an artist that sees both animals and humans as living creatures inhabiting the same world.       Take a look at the eyes of the animals in the second scroll. These eyes are characteristic of humans, with large whites. Humans know the object of the line of sight by the position of the other person’s pupils, and emotions can be discerned by the shape of the entire eye. Providing the same line of sight to animals through brush strokes gives them the eyes of humans, and these eyes speak more eloquently than the mouth.

Scroll of Frolicking Animals (Choju giga) (Second scroll) Latter part of the Heian Era / The Kozanji Temple collection (Photo: Kyoto National Museum) As can be seen from the fighting dogs, the hen and the chick, and the roosters battling over turf, the animals’ movements are accurately depicted, and they are given facial expressions. These are indeed animals as seen from the human perspective. Tsukumogami Scroll (First scroll) Edo period / Copy / In the collection of the Kyoto University Library http://edb.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ exhibit-e/otogi/tsukumo/ tsukumo.html Legend has it that 100 years after a utensil is made, a spirit dwells within it, which is the origin of the term Tsukumogami. Old tools were thrown away on the road because they led people astray. They plotted revenge on humans, caused evil deeds to occur, and finally returned to Buddhism and enter Nirvana.

It’s not just animals—the depiction of faces on utensils is to express the Tsukumogami, the specter of the old tool in which a spirit dwells. Saibo-kun, a video produced by the Biohistory Research Hall, focuses on different substances within a cell. It vividly depicts the role of each protein and molecule, its movement, and its operation. Molecules work and rest, and one wakes up the others that are sleeping. This is an anthropomorphic expression, but it faithfully comprises the communication of molecular signals that occur within the cell when it moves. In fact, the impression directly received from the raw data arouses the anthropomorphism. For example, the molecular motors that are responsible for transporting substances within the cell have a manner of moving in which they alternately extend two protuberances. The only way to describe this is that the proteins are walking. Excessive anthropomorphization must be avoided from the perspective of the objectivity and universality of science. But in the process in which people view something with their eyes, think, and then convey it to other people is somehow an understanding of a phenomenon through anthropomorphization and metaphor, so it is also an acceptable way of organizing information. When we approach an object to understand it better, anthropomorphism suddenly occurs to us unbidden. To use this phenomenon to depict an object or process, one must open one’s heart to both art and science and look deeply. Continuing to observe and fostering the spirit of philos toward living creatures means that we must pay attention to even more methods of perception. Naoko Kitaji

Interactive image of the cell The form of a cell changes as it moves. What happens at that time within a cell? The form of the molecules and the organelle were designed based on the anthropomorphization of their roles and movements.

How molecular motors “walk” Photo: Nobutaka Hirokawa, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine They move as if they are intently staggering under a heavy load. Their movement is faster than one-legged molecular motors, which move as if hopping on one foot.

		Changes in the form of the molecules that support the creation of form
		The ecological system of Iriomote Island from the perspective of the wild cat

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