Before WWII
Writers like Frederik L. Schodt, Kinko Ito, Adam L. Kern, and Eric Peter Nash, continuity stress of Japanese cultural and aesthetic traditions as central to the history of manga. Schodt points to the existence in the 13th century of illustrated picture scrolls like Choju-jinbuts-giga that told stories in sequential images with humor and wit. Schodt also stresses continuities of aesthetic style and vision between ukiyo-e and shunga woodblock prints and modern manga (these are all the fulfillments for Eisner's criteria for sequential art). While there have been disputes over whether Choju-jinbuts-giga or Shiginsan-engi was the first manga, both date back to around the same time period. Others like Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli (Co-founder and director), Contends there is no linkage with the scrolls and modern manga.
Part of the scroll of Choju-jinbuts-giga.