Did the style originate from wood-blocks? And did the style begin before or after western influence? What is considered the first manga/ anime?
The pictoral style of Chinese, and therefor also Japanese art, is greatly different from 'western' art. Some of the earliest works that are considered manga are four scrolls of the 12/13th century called choju-giga. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga There is also some fragment on the back of a door at some temple that is way older and has been discovered relatively recently but I cannot find it sadly.