Boy with Cow at the River's Edge 1868 - 1912

Hashimoto Gahō painted *Boy with Cow at the River's Edge* with ink and color on silk. Gahō lived through a period of enormous social change in Japan, when the country opened to the West after a long period of self-imposed isolation. This painting, with its quiet and gentle tone, is striking for its sentimental depiction of rural life, in the Meiji era, when Japan was rapidly industrializing. The artist's training in traditional Japanese painting techniques combined with the influence of Western art styles is evident in the soft color palette and the attention to detail. The image of a boy with a cow can be seen as an assertion of Japanese identity. Cows had served an essential agricultural role for centuries. The painting speaks to a desire to maintain cultural values amidst modernization. It is a nostalgic gaze at an idealized past, where harmony between humans and nature prevailed.