| The History of Suiseki Suiseki (pronounced suu-ee-seck-ee) also known as "viewing stones" are small, naturally formed stones collected for their beauty and their power to suggest a natural landscape or an object associated with nature. The term suiseki in Japanese means literally (SUI)"water" (SEKI)"stone". It is derived from the ancient custom of displaying miniature landscape stones in trays filled with water. The art of suiseki is believed to have its origins some two thousand years ago in China, where small stones of great natural beauty were set on stands to represent legendary islands and mountains associated with Buddhist or Taoist beliefs. These stones are called Gongshi or Chinese Scholar's Rocks. The first recorded instance of these stones in Japan was in the reign of Empress Suiko-Tenno (A.D. 592 - 628). Suiko was the first empress in recorded history to rule Japan. During her reign, Buddhism was promoted officially. It was then that China first diplomatically recognized Japan, and Chinese influence increased. Sometime during her reign Emissaries from the Chinese Imperial Court brought several Gongshi stones, along with Penjing (Which translates to Container Scenery, the Chinese art of creating a miniature landscape in a container, with small living trees planted on rocks) to Japan. These two Chinese art forms, Gongshi and Penjing, would later become what we know today as Suiseki and Bonsai. Up until the sixth century the main religion in Japan was Shinto. The Kami who are the Shinto sacred spirits are believed to take the form of things related to natural objects such as wind, rain, mountains, rivers, Trees, Rocks and stones. For over a thousand years the Japanese had looked upon such stones with a spirit approaching veneration. It is therefore not surprising that Empress Suiko greatly admired these stones. During this early period of development, Gongshi stones were appreciated both for their natural beauty and for their religious or philosophical symbolism. The Japanese adapted the art of to their own tastes. In the Muromachi period (1338-1573) radical changes occurred in Japanese aesthetic taste that caused a major divergence from the Chinese tradition Gongshi. This change was caused in large part by the acceptance among the growing samurai class of Zen Buddhism. During this period of Japanese history, Suiseki, as well as the tea ceremony, flower arrangement, bonsai, calligraphy, literature, painting, music and architecture, attained new levels of refinement and perfection. Connoisseurs of viewing stones would hold gatherings where participants competed with one another in writing poetry about the stone on display. Stones were sometimes so highly prized that their owners carried them in specially designed boxes wherever they travelled. The Edo period (1603-1867) saw a rise of wealthy merchants who also became interested in suiseki. This was also the time when Japan closed their borders to the outside world, this isolation allowed Japanese arts to flourish without outside influence. During the early Meiji period (1868-1912), due to a decrease in wealth of the nobility and the samurai, the art of Suiseki came to a virtual standstill. Fortunately this was a very brief dip in the art of stone appreciation, and by the start of the 20th century the popularity of suiseki had revived and has reached an all time high. This is when the classifications for suiseki we use today were developed. Displaying Suiseki The most popular ways to display a suiseki are to make a small wooden stand (Daiza or Dai) that perfectly fits the base of the stone, or display it in a shallow tray either ceramic ( Suiban) or Bronze (Doban), filled with sand or water. Suiseki are often seen displayed alongside Bonsai at exhibitions, both are miniature representations of there full size counterparts. Were as bonsai are crafted by the hand of man over years or decades to look like a full size tree, Suiseki is purely created by the forces of nature over millennia, eroded by wind or water to be perfect miniatures of mountain ranges or a sea stack. Classifications Suiseki can be classified in many ways, shape, surface pattern colour or place of origin, but the most commonly used are shape and surface pattern. When stones are classified by shape, there are two primary sub classifications. Scenic landscape stones (Sansui keijo-seki) or object stones (Keisho-seki). |
 |
| Suiseki |