A Japanese Shohin Suiseki Exhibition
A Major Exhibition of Small Japanese Stones Near Nagoya

By Thomas S. Elias, December, 2019

A welcomed but unusual event in the modern history of Japanese suiseki occurred on the weekend of November 21-23, 2019. The Chukyo Suiseki Kai club in Nisshin City near Nagoya held an all shohin suiseki exhibition. Since shohin stones are small, less than 15 cm, the task of finding a suitable venue became a challenge. These small stones would be lost and appear out-of-place in a large cavernous rooms where larger stones are typically displayed. The concept of scale is important in staging a successful display of viewing stones. The name of this exhibit was Shojo-seki-ten. Shojo-seki is translated literally as palm stones or small stones that can be held in the palm of a hand. The word “ten” simply means exhibition. This was the 25th suiseki exhibition staged by this club. Previously, this club held annual exhibits of 40 to 50 larger stones. This exhibit displayed only 25 stones due to of space limitations.

Mr. Ogawa Seiichi, president of the Chukyo Suiseki Kai, worked with the City of Nisshin to use their 250-year old historic Ichikawa House for the site for their shohin exhibition. This authentic Edo Period home with its traditional architecture and layout had smaller, more intimate rooms with tatami straw mats. Four smaller rooms including one with a tokonoma were used for the stone displays, while a larger adjacent room was used for receiving guests and provided a large low table for people to gather and discuss different aspects of stone appreciation. These rooms opened to a view of a beautiful traditional garden inside the property.

The old Ichikawa home makes a perfect setting for these small stones. This venue is idea for a limited number of visitors but would not be suitable if there were hundreds or thousands of visitors. As a result, this setting provides an opportunity to sit on the straw mats and view each stone display. Often, the exhibitor of the display is in attendance, giving the viewer the opportunity to ask questions about the display and learn what they were trying to accomplish with their arrangements.

This setting is a real learning opportunity, something that is often missing in the larger museum-based exhibitions. Being able to sit around a table with others sharing information and discussing various topics is invaluable. We sat with the presidents of three different stone clubs in the Nagoya region and discussed various topics: the difference between suiskei and aiseki; what is beseki; the use of fossils in suiseki; what makes a good display, and how to evaluate a display.
There were several displays of shohin bonsai and stones in the larger room to inform people that this exhibition was about small elements of beauty. From here, visitors moved into the first of the four rooms to see how the small stones are displayed. Most of the stones are from nearby rivers and mountains. At times, the rooms were filled to capacity. We were surprised by the number of people who came to see this shohin exhibition.
The Shojo-seki-ten serves as a good model for smaller stone clubs throughout the world. It shows that smaller more intimate display spaces can be effective as an exhibition. Specializing in one aspect of suiseki such as shohin can also attract considerable interest and provide for more diversity in stone exhibitions. Combining small trees and stones together in an exhibit also provides more interest. Innovations such as these can attract more people to the hobby and art of stone appreciation.
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