Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
- Date:
- 1822
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu) is an [ukiyo-e](/glossary/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](/glossary/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.
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; oban
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)" was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in 1822.
Farewell Gift for the Horse (Uma no Senbetsu), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)" depicts landscapes.