According to Nobuo Tsuji, an authority on Jakuchū who authenticated this work as a genuine work by Jakuchū, it is possible that Jakuchū saw the elephants in Kyoto when he was fourteen years old. It is also possible that he saw the whale either in Kishū, where whaling was popular, or in Osaka, where whales were exhibited at fairs.
Nobuo Tsuji, an authority on Jakuchū who authenticated this work as genuine, suggests that Jakuchū may have seen elephants in Kyoto when he was fourteen years old. It is also possible that he saw a whale either in Kishū, where whaling was common, or in Osaka, where whales were displayed at fairs.