Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Buffalo and Herdsman

ca. 1887
Not on view
One of the most engaging of Zen (Ch'an) Buddhist instructional tales is the "Ten Scenes with an Ox" (Jugyuzu), a Southern Song invention. The story of an ox-herding boy in search of his lost charge is an analogy for discipline and enlightenment as the wayward ox, standing for the self, is found, roped, and led home. Appealing as genre scenes, the fifth scene, of the ox being led by the boy (religious training), and the sixth scene, of the boy riding the ox toward home (the two as one), are often repeated apart from the set.

Kawanabe Kyosai trained in the Kano studios and was well acquainted with popular Chinese themes in Japanese painting. His eccentric point of view makes even the most academic and conventionally executed of his works compelling.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Buffalo and Herdsman
  • Artist: Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎 (Japanese, 1831–1889)
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: ca. 1887
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 1/2 in. (36.2 x 26.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
  • Object Number: 14.76.61.16
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Rocky Landscape, Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎 Japanese, Album leaf; ink and color on silk, Japan
Rocky Landscape
Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎
ca. 1887
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Narcissus, Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk, China
Narcissus
China
13th century
Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey, Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎 Japanese, Album leaf; ink and color on silk, Japan
Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey
Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎
ca. 1887
Koto (箏), Various woods, ivory, metal, nylon, tortoiseshell, abalone, lacquerwork, Japanese
Koto (箏)
Japanese
20th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.