The “friend” in the title of this work refers to the dead horse in the center of the frame, who is being prepared for burial. Surrounding the horse are its family, saying goodbye with great sadness. The theme is the same as Nissho’s Dead Horse, which shows how closely the two artists influenced each other. Ebihara Kinosuke was born in Kagoshima City in 1904 and set off for France in 1923, where he associated with the artists of the so-called École de Paris. His distinctive use of blue earned the name “Ebihara Blue” in Parisian art circles. After returning to Japan, he became active with the Dokuritsu-bijutsu kyōkai or Association of Independent Artists, until passing away in 1970, the same year as Nissho, who respected him as a painter and as an elder with the Dokuritsu Exhibition.