Tree peony

A tree peony (botan) rendered in Hodo's woodblock kachō-ga tradition — the flower considered the "king of flowers" in East Asian aesthetic tradition, its large, lush blooms in pink, red, white, and yellow associated with aristocratic refinement and auspicious beauty. The tree peony was a subject that allowed Hodo to display his mastery of the multi-block color printing process, the flowers' complex layering of petals requiring careful registration of multiple color blocks to achieve their characteristic luxuriance.