Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Shigisan Engi Emaki dates to the 8th century and emerged during the Nara period between 710 and 794 CE. This work depicts the life of Gautama Buddha and closely copied older Chinese models before evolving into paper and silk formats.
Aristocratic women at the imperial court created a refined painting style known as yamato-e during the 10th century by adopting hiragana syllabary which suited Japanese phonetics better than Chinese writing. Their works illustrated novels like Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu around 1000 CE using rich opaque colors applied over entire surfaces with mineral pigments mixed with animal glue.
Four National Treasure scrolls define the classical tradition including the Genji Monogatari Emaki, Chojju-jinbutsu-giga, Ban Dainagon Ekotoba, and Shigisan Engi Emaki. These works remain intact today despite centuries of handling and storage challenges while exemplifying different subgenres such as women's painting men's painting religious chronicles and secular history.
Artists developed specialized methods including hikinuki which removed roofs from buildings allowing simultaneous depiction of interior and exterior spaces. Parallel perspective used diagonal vanishing lines running from top right to bottom left to create depth while bird's eye views maximized available space leaving background visible behind foreground elements.
Japanese paper contained longer fibers making it stronger than Chinese varieties imported earlier and served as the primary support medium though silk appeared occasionally for special commissions. Thick animal glue bound insoluble pigments preventing cracking when scrolls rolled up repeatedly while lining processes stretched painted surfaces onto strong backing sheets using strips of long-fiber paper.