Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"

Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu) is an ukiyo-e print by Katsushika Hokusai from the series A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi), produced around 1822 and held in the Art Institute of Chicago. The Uma-zukushi was commissioned for the Year of the Horse, a zodiac occasion that prompted poetry circles to gather under an equine theme. Each design pairs a witty title with imagery that engages horses obliquely, often through objects, place names, food, or human gestures connected to the animal. Farewell Gift for the Horse imagines the parting rituals offered to a horse departing on a journey, perhaps with a traveler, perhaps to new ownership, and uses that occasion to assemble a careful still life of gifts, ropes, and accoutrements. Hokusai's design rewards close reading: every object carries potential allusions to classical literature, contemporary travel customs, or shared inside jokes of the poetry club. As an Edo ukiyo-e print produced in the surimono format, the sheet preserves metallic pigments, embossing, and intricate color separations only available to privately funded editions. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this ukiyo-e print as evidence of how Katsushika Hokusai bridged everyday observation, calligraphic wit, and refined graphic technique, turning a zodiac year into an extended visual conversation among Edo's literary networks.