Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"

Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi), is a Katsushika Hokusai ukiyo-e print from around 1822, held in the Art Institute of Chicago. The Uma-zukushi was a privately commissioned surimono series produced for the Year of the Horse, with each sheet pairing a witty title or allusion with imagery loosely connected to horses. The Kurama gobo, a long slender root associated with Mount Kurama outside Kyoto and famous in Japanese cuisine, appears here as both visual subject and pun, since 'Kurama' evokes the legendary mountain where the warrior Yoshitsune trained in swordsmanship under tengu. Hokusai's design plays across vegetable still life, classical reference, and equine theme, with the burdock root's elongated form echoed by tools, ropes, or other carefully arranged objects. The composition rewards close reading and conversation, exactly the kind of layered wit that surimono patrons prized. As an Edo ukiyo-e print, the work showcases the technical refinement of surimono: metallic pigments for gleaming highlights, blind embossing for subtle texture, and intricate color separations available only to privately funded editions. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this ukiyo-e print as part of its broad holdings of Hokusai surimono, documenting Katsushika Hokusai's ability to compress poetry, food, history, and humor into a single sheet.