My introduction to the Ox-Herding Songs was at an exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2000, entitled “Bridge of Dreams”, which put on display some highlights of the Mary Griggs Burke Collection of Japanese Art. The companion coffee-table book/catalog of the same name (author Miyeko Murase), published that year, is an impressive scholarly effort based on historical artifacts, and serves as my primary reference source.
     The Ox-Herding Songs, originally created in China as “gongan” (“koan” in Japanese), serve as a parable helpful in charting paths to enlightenment. As with other works whose origins are in antiquity, correct creative attributions may be difficult to assign, even as they presage the more firmly established historical touchstones. Cursory investigation turned up substantial variation in how the allegory has been interpreted and presented, with the additional screens of linguistic and cultural transposition to be acknowledged, if not lamented.
     A historical Chinese figure referred to as Kakuan (Kaku-an Shi-en, Kuo-an Shih-yuan, Guoan Shiyuan) is central in the development of the Ten Ox-Herding Songs, publishing an edition of the songs accompanied by supplementary woodblock prints during the mid-twelfth century. Depending on context, one might consider each “song” to represent a set of verses, a step, a stage, a phase, etc. The reference to songs might be best understood as loosely encompassing a bit of all of those meanings, rather than a narrow contemporary concept of a song. We would suppose that Kakuan based his work on pre-existing verses, and at one point they may have been poems rather than songs. There is a slippery slope of difference between these forms in many traditional (and contemporary) cultures. I have never witnessed or been aware of any performance of the songs, and would not know if the “musical” part of the songs involved accompaniment by instruments.
     The original prints (of Kakuan – who knows what preceded his?) are lost, so we rely on copies, interpretations by subsequent artists. It has apparently been a popular theme (at least for Zen-istas) through the ages, with both monochrome ink and colored versions. The Bridge of Dreams documents a color series from a Japanese scroll dated to 1278 A.D. (when mounted on the wall, they are to be viewed in sequence from right to left). It would be nice to know more about the artist Kogi, but no such luck. In some versions, especially earlier ones, there are fewer than ten songs, with the endpoint of enlightenment reached in song eight. The 10-song version that I reference includes two songs beyond enlightenment, a notion initially unanticipated and curious to ponder. There is substantial variability regarding the exact titles of some of the songs, as well as the overall title of the series. The songs and their graphic equivalents continue to be re- and re- interpreted, even parodied, into modern times. Who’s to say? My zen-dabbler sense is that this is all good, manifestations of the inspirational and durable nature of the overall concept. Hopefully my spirit of homage exonerates the violation of certain conventions of traditional pictorial expression (color choices, for example), which became more apparent to me ex post facto.
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     The Oxherding Songs came into my life during a period of substantial personal turmoil. Even though I lacked any sense of the esthetic beauty of the songs themselves, I could appreciate the appeal of the images on multiple levels. Generating one card per year worked well with my schedule, considering the amount of design and production effort required, and my tradition of creating an annual card to celebrate the winter holidays, where Christmas imagery had been long abandoned in favor of more broadly seasonal themes. The projected time span, a decade, seemed a good measure of opportunity for me to revisit the parable and find resonance therein. And as a bonus extravagance of speculative dot-connecting, I was mindful of the possibility that Jesus could have been influenced by the Buddha’s teachings.
     My inclination is to resist telling what I think is “meant” by the songs, and to leave that task to others inclined to do so. The avid learner will come in some fashion to an appropriate interpretation. The Ox-Herding Songs have spawned a number of contemporary books, available for consultation. The Bridge of Dreams account provided below uses song headings that weave aspects of symmetry into the sequence, providing additional framework for my appreciation. The final song feaures a “hotei”.  I can easily identifying with the consensus interpretations regarding his pot-belly, disregard for fastidious attire, and inclination to inebriation, though I am not bald and haven’t stretched my earlobes. I strive to attain his sense of compassion.