Komagata Hall and O-umaya River Bank, from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma zukushi)"
- Date:
- 1822
- Medium:
- Color woodblock prints with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban triptych
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Komagata Hall and O-umaya River Bank, from the series A Selection of Horses (Uma zukushi), is a [surimono](/glossary/surimono) designed by Katsushika Hokusai around 1817 and now held in the Art Institute of Chicago. Surimono are privately commissioned, deluxe woodblock prints, typically produced for poetry clubs and other small audiences and distinguished by their refined printing, lavish use of metallic pigments and embossing, and incorporation of verses (kyōka or haiku) into the design.
The series Uma zukushi (A Selection of Horses) gathers a sequence of designs each pairing a famous place or theme with the equine subject, drawing on poetic and topographical conventions deeply embedded in Edo culture. The present sheet links Komagata Hall, a riverside temple in Edo's Asakusa district whose name itself includes the character for horse (koma), with the nearby O-umaya (Great Stables) riverbank, where shogunal horses were once kept. Both sites' onomastic connections to horses make them ideal occasions for an equine-themed surimono, and Hokusai weaves the topography of the Sumida River into the design.
Formally, the print exhibits the polished and finely modulated palette typical of surimono. Soft blues and greys describe the river, gilt highlights pick out the temple roof and stable structures, and the brushed line carries Hokusai's confident landscape draftsmanship even at the small surimono scale. Verses by members of the patron's poetry club are integrated into the upper portion of the sheet.
As a [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) print, Komagata Hall and O-umaya River Bank demonstrates how Katsushika Hokusai brought the resources of large-scale landscape design to the intimate surimono format and how Edo ukiyo-e accommodated both broad commercial publishing and refined private commission.
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.
Komagata Hall and O-umaya River Bank, from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma zukushi)" was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in 1822.
Komagata Hall and O-umaya River Bank, from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma zukushi)" depicts landscapes.