Sakura

Sakura (cherry wood) is the traditional and preferred material for woodblock carving in Japan. The wood of the mountain cherry (yamazakura, Prunus serrulata) possesses an ideal combination of qualities for printmaking: a fine, uniform grain that allows extremely detailed carving; sufficient hardness to withstand thousands of impressions without degrading; and a smooth surface that accepts and releases water-based pigments cleanly.

Block carvers (horishi) traditionally preferred cherry wood from trees grown in Shizuoka or Nagano prefectures, aged and dried for several years before use. The blocks are cut as planks (along the grain, in the plank-grain or mokume direction) rather than as end-grain blocks (as in Western wood engraving). Plank-cut cherry allows the carver to work with the grain, using the natural fiber direction to guide the knife.

The quality of the wood directly affects the quality of the print. Premium cherry blocks have tight, even grain with no knots or irregularities. A skilled carver can cut lines as thin as a strand of hair in good cherry wood. While other woods (including magnolia and catalpa) have been used for printing blocks, cherry remains the standard. Old blocks from the Edo period, when properly stored, can still produce acceptable impressions — a testament to the wood's durability.