Soken Picture Album: The Plant Section (Soken gafu: Sōka no bu)
Soken Picture Album: The Plant Section is a Japanese woodblock-printed botanical sketchbook made by the painter Yamaguchi Soken and published in Kyoto in 1806 for artists and craftsmen. Its double-page spreads show grasses, wheat-like stalks, flowering herbs and leafy stems set against pale washed backgrounds, drawn in crisp dark outline with little shading. A designer could borrow its economical line, sparse negative space and stylized botanical silhouettes for pattern, textile or print work.
