Cleveland Museum of Art

Farmer Returning Home in Autumn

Yosa Buson

Date

1781

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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

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