Farmer Returning Home in Autumn

秋景色帰農夫図

1781

Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村

(Japanese, 1716–1783)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk

Measurements

Overall: 203.2 x 59.2 cm (80 x 23 5/16 in.); Painting only: 130.8 x 46.2 cm (51 1/2 x 18 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1970.77

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Location

235A Japanese

Did You Know?

The man keeps his feet dry by crossing over the bridge while the water buffalo pulls the cart through the stream.

Description

Here, Yosa Buson’s farmer playfully chastises a crow who has come to dine on his grain while his water buffalo earnestly negotiates a swift stream. Raised in what is now Osaka, Buson went to Edo (now Tokyo) to study poetry composition. He later traveled around northeastern Japan, following in the footsteps of poet Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉) (1644–1694), and then taught poetry in Kyoto. He painted professionally, a skill he learned by using wood-block–printed Chinese painting manuals.