Herdboys and Buffalos

A pair of water buffalos, followed by a calf, wade through shallow water, their herdboys perched upon their backs. They are likely returning home after a day in the rice paddies, where, in China, water buffalos were used as draught animals, to draw ploughs that reduced the soil to a muddy consistency. The theme of herdboys and their buffalos or oxen was popular in China from the Song dynasty (960–1279) on, and was brought to Japan around the early fourteenth century, where it became a popular subject for Zen ink painters. Associated in China with agriculture, fertility, and the spring season, herdboys and buffalos were also the subject of Zen parables comparing the herding of an ox with the individual’s search for enlightenment. In this composition, the artist appears to have been influenced by the more nature-related of the two traditions.

Kaō, one of the first Japanese artists to successfully assimilate the painting methods of Chinese ink painters, was a Zen Buddhist priest-painter. In many respects his work exemplifies early Japanese ink painting of the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, characterized by rapid, spontaneous brushwork, the use of wash to define form, and a minimum of detail.