Forsaking outlines, Sakai Oho formed the tree trunk and branches with wet washes of diluted ink and colors, and then dripped more ink, pigments, and even plain water onto the painting. Called tarashikomi, this mottled, blotted effect appears as contours and surface texture. Oho established a striking contrast between the strong, wet effects in the older branches and the energetic, needle-pointed shoots, and he finished the flowers with delicate touches of gold paint for the stamens and pistils. The red- blossomed branch is defined by a carefully reserved area of unpainted silk.

Born the son of a monk, Oho was adopted when he was twelve by a mistress of the Rin School, or Rinpa, master Sakai Hoitsu. He became the heir to Hoitsu’s artistic lineage, which went back to Ogata Korin in the early 1700s and to the school’s founder, Sotatsu, in the early 1600s. The Rin School’s references to classical literature and the artists’ lavish use of rich colors and gold and silver hark back to the heyday of the imperial court during the Heian period (794–1185). The Rinpa’s emphatic patterns and marked decorative flavor lent themselves seamlessly to designs for lacquerware, ceramics, and other mediums as readily as to painting.