Sakaki

Sakaki (Cleyera japonica) is the sacred evergreen tree of Shinto practice, its branches used in purification rituals, shrine offerings, and the decoration of altars. A print titled Sakaki likely depicts the tree or its branches as a nature study, possibly within a ritual context — perhaps a shrine precincts scene or a close study of the glossy, dark-green foliage with its small white flowers. Gekko's kacho-e (bird-and-flower) tradition informed his approach to botanical subjects, and the sakaki's cultural weight — its connection to Amaterasu and the Kojiki creation myths — would have given even a restrained nature study an implicit spiritual dimension. The printing would emphasize the waxy sheen of the leaves through careful color registration, distinguishing it from the softer textures of flowering subjects like plum or chrysanthemum.