Boy on a Bull

Seated atop a mountainous bull, a young oxherd attempts to rein the animal in, but from the boy’s piteous expression it is clear he is not in control. A handful of plum blossoms flutter to the ground near the bull’s feet, indicating that this painting is related to the Shintoist Tenjin cult. The bull was considered sacred in Tenjin worship, and plum blossoms were favored by Sugawara Michizane, the cult’s patron deity.