FEATURED BOOK REVIEW

Inoiue Yoshio. 1966

Suiseki no Mitate to Teire (How to View and Take Care
of Suiseki)

Rating: Excellent: a significant historical record in Japanese suiseki

Aiseki Series 4. Tokuma Shoten, 219 pages. No ISBN. 

 

by Hiromi Nakaoji


This book was published at the height of the popularity of the suiseki hobby in Japan. Tokuma Shoten published 5 books in the Aiseki Series; All Japan Stone Hunting Guidebook, Geology for Aiseki Hobbyists, Small Seiseki Hobby, Suiseki Appreciation, and  How to View and Take Care of Suiseki. This is an important book since the book has a detailed description of how the famous Sakai family made many suiseki from the 1890s to the 1930s. This volume consists of five chapters such as How to Enjoy Suiseki, Viewing of Suiseki, Taking Care of Suiseki, Processing of Stones (Story by Sakai Teikyo), and Stones of Japan. It reveals to us how common it was to use oils and waxes for stones. The book, at the end, has a list of how to take care of each type of stone from various parts of Japan. Inoue says that an excellent suiseki hobbyist has to go stone hunting and has to work on stones.


In a way, this is a shocking book to reveal all the secrets of Japanese suiseki during the early years of the peak of popularity of suiseki in Japan. Yet, the book is very comprehensive describing how to work on stones including details of using sandpapers and oils. We may not see the same type of book in the future. That is why this book is such a significant historical record in Japanese suiseki.

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