History

The art of displaying stones originated in China as an example of the Tao at work. The forms of Chinese stones are generally vertical, convoluted forms with heavy textures and piercing. The most treasured stones came from certain lakes where hard limestone eroded into fantastic forms, and which also gave off a distinctive sound when struck. In later times when Buddhism was brought by Chinese monks to Japan, and with subsequent travel by Japanese back to Chinas for study, the stones were brought to Japan as instructive examples of Buddhist practice. Once these stones became assimilated into the Japanese Zen Buddhist culture, the aesthetic mutated into a very different form. The cultivation of a refined aesthetic in stone display over the course of time has led to certain classifications and rules to which Suiseki must conform to in order for the collector to gain the greatest spiritual and philosophic benefit. It is this discipline which marks the restraint, elegance, and power of Suiseki.

Qualities

The power of Suiseki to suggest the forms of nature, or to suggest over-arching laws of primal form is a combination of aspects evident to a greater or lesser extent in each stone. Collectors basically look for Shape, Color, Texture, Balance or Rhythm, Wabi-Sabi, Harmony, Adherence to Classification, and Display. In Dr. Felix Rivera’s excellent book (from which I’ve borrowed these aspects) there is a broader discussion in relation to Western systems of physics, mathematics, and art to help the beginning student understand the more ambiguous (yet oddly efficient) concepts of Japanese aesthetic.

Collecting

In Northern California, most of the collecting sites are in the rivers and creeks falling from the Costal Range that have deposits of hard minerals like basalt, jasper, serpentine, jade, and nephrite. As the stones are eroded by the tumbling and polishing action of the river over time, shapes are revealed, and patina formed that we are drawn to, as they are deposited at the beds of rivers such as the Russian, Eel, and Klamath. Incidentally, many Suiseki collectors are a little secretive about their productive spots, although fine specimens are lifted from the well known sites every year. Every spring, stones are revealed as the rivers fall from winter flood.

In the World

It is here that I would like to veer away from the more theoretical aspects of collecting to the sensuous enjoyment of the form. Once you have been in the thrall of a stone of deep mysterious color, of a shape and suggestive of mountains falling away into the distance, or of a mountain stream splashing between mossy boulders in a stone that is only eight inches wide, the urge to find your own Suiseki is a tight kernel of desire only satisfied at the bend of a river. The act of lifting, turning over, of looking so intently at stones, has a power to alter one’s mind, to refresh and stimulate. It is the sound of the river bouncing, the color of morning sun on rippling water, the dense weight of stone, and place, and mind, that creates a form called Suiseki that is somewhere between art, philosophy, and raw wonder.

Collecting Together

Some of the most beautiful collecting sites in the world are within 200 miles of San Francisco Bay. This provides us with the unique opportunity to collect stones of astonishing variety and quality. There are several excellent books available on Suiseki that go into great detail about the collection and display of Suiseki and Landscape stones. I hope this brief overview will whet your appetite for further study. I heartily recommend joining a collecting club—I myself am a member of the California Suiseki Society—because as much as books can teach, only by discussing in detail the qualities of stones with experienced Suiseki collectors can one expect to have subtleties revealed by stones along the banks of musical rivers.

Recommended reading:
Suiseki, the Japanese Art of Miniature Landscape Stones, by Felix Rivera, Stone Bridge Press
The Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation, Covello and Yoshimura, Chas. E. Tuttle Publisher
Zen and Japanese Culture, D. T. Suzuki, Princeton

(July 2000)

Tags: Bob Carlson, suiseki