Cherry Blossoms (Kaia at The Ned London)

A faux stained-glass installation at Kaia, a Japanese-influenced restaurant within The Ned hotel in the City of London. The work translates Imada's cherry-blossom imagery, drawn from the [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) tradition of woodblock printing, into a translucent architectural medium that catches and modulates light passing through the space. [Sakura](/glossary/sakura), the seasonal subject signalled by the Japanese title 桜咲く (cherry blossoms blooming), carries the long-standing associations of mono no aware—the awareness of transience—that Edo-period printmakers explored across hanami scenes and bird-and-flower compositions. By moving from [washi](/glossary/washi) and pigment to a glass-like surface, Imada draws on the silhouette and graphic clarity that mokuhanga requires—flat colour fields, defined outlines, careful compositional balance between branch, blossom, and negative space—and lets ambient light replace the layered [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) of a printed sheet. The commission is part of her broader practice of placing Japanese print sensibilities into non-gallery settings: cathedrals, museum great courts, hotel interiors.