Horse Iris Pattern (Koma shobu), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"

Horse Iris Pattern comes from Katsushika Hokusai's surimono series A Selection of Horses, designed in 1822 to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The Uma-zukushi set was published for poetry clubs, with each sheet using equine themes as an excuse for varied still lifes, costumes, and pattern designs. In Horse Iris Pattern, Hokusai concentrates on a textile motif in which stylized horses are integrated with iris flowers, transforming an actual fabric pattern into the protagonist of the print. The composition reads as both decorative arts study and visual pun, since the iris, called shobu, is a homophone for shobu meaning martial spirit, a quality long associated with horses in Japanese culture. As a surimono, the sheet was produced in small editions on heavyweight paper with refined pigments, often including silver, gold, and embossing, elevating it well above commercial Edo ukiyo-e production. Hokusai's mastery of pattern, line, and the close observation of textile design is fully on display, presented with the precision a poetry connoisseur would appreciate. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this ukiyo-e print as part of its surimono collection, where Katsushika Hokusai's contributions to private poetry printing are documented in depth, illuminating an essential, less commercial side of the Edo ukiyo-e tradition.