Japanese Toki-ishi, Colorful Petrified WoodReviews Use of Petrified Wood as Suiseki
in Japan
By Thomas S. Elias, March, 2020
The collection, appreciation, and display of petrified wood has been part of the Japanese viewing stone culture for many decades, possibly dating back to Tokugawa Tsunayochi, the 5th Shogun of the Tokugawa period. While pieces of petrified wood have been found in different regions of Japan, the ones found in Gifu and Aichi prefectures are considered as the most desirable. The primary attraction of these stones is their color; the red, green, yellow, black, white, pink, or multicolored stones are the most highly prized. The colors are the result of trace minerals present in the water during the mineralization phase when the organic cellular material was being replaced by mineral deposits over time. These pieces are from an ancient forest of the Miocene era (23 to 2.3 mya) that existed until a period of volcanic and tectonic (earthquakes) radically altered the topography and environment of this region.
Three or four decades ago, nice Toki-ishi stones could be found in a river that flows through Gifu and then Aichi prefectures. In Gifu, it is known as the Toki River; however, the name changes to the Shonai River when it enters Aichi prefecture. Since then, most larger specimens are found in ancient gravel beds in the mountains. These are exposed during construction developments especially in the mining of clay for the ceramic industries. The gravel beds lie on top of the clay beds and the best Toki-ishi are found at the intersection of the gravel and clay layers. The stones have been subjected to thousands of years of tumbling and grinding in the gravel beds with seasonal changes in rainfall and water levels. As a result, most Toki-ishi have been rounded into rough globose or ovoid shapes with no sharp points, furrows, or ridges. Since they lack distinguishing landscape-like forms—mountains, plateaus, canyons, etc.—they will never enjoy the same status as stones from the Kamo, Saji, Seta, and other rivers. Toki-ishi are appreciated primarily for their color and patterns (textures) rather than their forms.
Toki-ishi are found in many different colors. The more common colors encountered are yellow, brown, and tan. The rarest and most desirable colors are green and blue followed by red, pink and black. Multicolored stones are highly valuable to Toki-ishi collectors and highly sought after. Members of the Toki-ishi clubs will have a sale or exchange of their stones at their annual exhibition, usually in mid-March.
While Toki-ishi is evaluated primarily for their color, a few stones have shapes that resemble aspects of nature such as this hut stone and a high plateau form in this red and white stone. These are largely exceptions to the commonly found forms in these stones.
There are three clubs that belong to the All Japan Aiseki Association that are devoted solely to Toki-ishi. Two clubs are in Nagoya and the third club is located in Toyohashi. These clubs hold annual exhibitions of these stones and have published an annual catalog for the last 50 years. They have also published six hard-bound volumes, one every five years, of the best Toki-ishi found in the five-year periods. Other collectors in the Nagoya and Gifu regions typically have several pieces of petrified wood in their collections.
Toki-ishi are attributed to the Tokugawa period in Japanese history. According to Choshu Notes, a book by Naito Touho (1727-1788), several cobble stones are described including a five-color agate. Specialists consider this agate to be a multi-colored Toki-ishi. Ten of these stones were presented to the Tokugawa government. Several of these stones were presented to the fifth Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi of the Tokugawa government. Just like Furuya stones were valued and appreciated by the Kishu Tokugawa family, Toki-ishi were valued by the Owari Tokugawa family. Further evidence for an early appreciation of Toki-ishi is found in the Unkon-shi (Book of Stones)
by Kiuchi Sekitei published in 1801. An entry for Owari agate is considered as an early mention of Toki-ishi; Owari is an early name for the Aichi region where these stones are found.
Toki-ishi was first displayed in a viewing stone exhibition in the United States nearly fifty years ago. The Los Angeles Meiseki Exhibition for U.S.-Japan Friendship was staged at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum from May 14 through August 1973. This exhibition was sponsored by the Chubu Aiseki Association and the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation. One hundred twenty-three stones were illustrated in the exhibit catalog published for this event. A photograph of a semi-rounded Toki-ishi with a center depression was illustrated in this catalog.
While many stone collectors in Japan consider Toki-ishi as biseki (colorful stones), Matsuura, former chairman of the Japan Suiseki Association for 20 years, described these stones as a type of suiseki in his Suiseki Introduction Manual
(2003) and his Introduction to Suiseki
(2010). Eight Toki-ishi were featured in the article Stones of Gifu Prefecture
published in the February 2020 issue of the Japanese magazine Aiseki.
In February 2020, we visited with two of the leading Toki-ishi collectors in Japan, Mr. Fujishiro Katsuya in Toyohashi City and Mr. Ohiwa Takao in Chita City. Fujishiro and his wife has been collecting Toki-ishi for 45 years and has assembled the largest and perhaps finest collection of these stones in Japan. He usually makes his own bases (daiza) from hard wood although he sometimes used master base maker Harada Kazuya. Fujishoro is the president of the Toki-ishi club that organized the major annual exhibition of Toki-ishi. He cordially supplied us with valuable information about Toki-ishi and allowed us to photograph many of his stones.
Mr. Ohiwa began collecting these stone nearly 50 years ago and also has a large impressive collection. At the time of our visit, Ohiwa was holding a three-month exhibit of his Toki-ishi stones at the Chita City Cultural Center. Ohiwa makes his own bases using clay embedded with wood fibers. Once the bases are completed dried and sanded, they are painted black. Like Fujishiro, Ohiwa was generous in sharing information about these stones and showed us a major portion of his collection
Mr. Fujishiro Katsuya; next, Mr. Ohiwa holding a rare pink colored Toki-ishi
Regardless of how you classify Toki-ishi in artificial categories—suiseki or biseki—these pieces of colorful petrified wood have been part of Japanese viewing stone culture for at least the last 50 years and possibly even back as far as the mid-Tokugawa era. They help illustrate the wide range of stones that are collected and appreciated in Japan – both now, as well as in the past.
