About 170 years ago, during Japan's Edo period, a 34-foot scroll called Fart Battle (He-gassen) was created by unknown artisan(s). The work lives on in glorious hi-res digitized collection at Waseda University.

Nothing is safe in this fart battle, not even cats.

Some fart battle participants use fans defensively against their opponents.

The scrolls were likely political cartoons of the day, railing against threats to Japan's isolationist policies due to gunboat diplomacy like the Perry Expedition. You can't spell "fine art" without "fart."

(via Spoon & Tamago)