Color woodcut of tomato vine with orange fruit

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A color woodcut of a tomato vine heavy with orange fruit is an unusual subject for the Japanese prints tradition, which is better known for landscapes, actors and beauties. Woodcuts of this kind were made by carving a separate block for each color, then pressing the inked blocks onto paper one after another, so the flat, saturated tones of the fruit and leaves come from careful layering. Botanical and everyday plant subjects grew more common in later Japanese print making, when artists turned to the natural world around them. Notice how the vine's tendrils and leaves are rendered with fine, deliberate lines.

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