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everal years ago, we visited a stone carver systems between and around the two buildings and Top; The first major or rough
and his shop located on the Ibi River, but along the rear of his property, a driveway and parking cuts have been made by
that visit was brief and our limited time did area. It is large enough for several cars to park inside Sakurai to form a single peak
not permit us to document the extent of the the property. The extensive outdoor bench system is mountain stone. These first
cuts (lighter colored areas)
Sstone carving at this location. Over several for cultivated stones or yoseki, the Japanese practice of were made with his large
intervening years, we became personally acquainted cultivating stones outdoors. circular saw. Later cuts, to
with each of the stone vendors at the Kokufu-ten and Sakurai was born in 1935 in the Ochiai family that make the mountain stone
Taikan-ten exhibitions. We learned that some of these ran a small family sake brewery. Toshio married into more realistic, will be made
dealers were also stone carvers, but one of them— the Sakurai family and assumed the Sakurai family with the power circular
grinding tools and the
Sakurai Toshio—was considered to be the last of the name, a tradition in Japan when a family only has hand-held pneumatic chisel.
major Japanese stone carvers making suiseki in Japan. daughters. Toshio first became interested in stones After the final shaping has
We knew that many of the stones he sells have been from the Yoshima River as a young adult around the been completed, it may be
partially or totally made, but we did not know how he time his father died. He started working as a taxi driv- subjected to sandblasting
made them. Sakurai invited us to visit his home and er in the 1950s since he had his own car. Whenever he to minimize the smooth cut
surfaces and then acid washed
his shop in Yaizu in central Shizuoka Prefecture. Our drove to nearby Yoshima, he would purchase several for a short time to darken the
first visit with him was on November 10, 2015 and boxes of attractive Yoshima stones from farmers and stone. Sakurai can make an
then we spent two more days with him in his home then take them to Tokyo to sell to Mr. Kasahara, owner attractive landscape stone in
and immediate area in March 22nd and 23rd, 2016. of Sansui-en, a nice stone shop in the Nerima region. four to six hours.
Our two-hour ride by bullet train (Shinkanshen) Sakurai was able to sell them for ten times what he
southwest from Tokyo to Yaizu gave us time to review paid. He was aware that buying and selling was stones Facing page; Two examples of
our questions for Sakurai. Sakurai met us at the Yaizu were a good business. stones in the process of being
carved.
train station and took us directly to his shop. On both These transactions occurred at the beginning of
visits, we sat and talked in his stone showroom before Japan’s biggest boom in suiseki appreciation. Japan
touring his facility. We soon learned that he had been was occupied by American military responsible for
buying, enhancing and selling stones for just over forty the reconstruction of Japan was administered by
years, and that he was friends with many stones deal- them until the treaty of San Francisco in 1951 when
ers in Shizuoaka and nearby Giu Prefectures and in Japan was turned back over to Japanese leaders.
Tokyo. Now in his early 80s, he is considering closing This was followed by a period of steady growth and
his business at the end of this year due to health issues. prosperity. A plethora of new books were published
His shop area, large by Japanese standards, consists of for suiseki hobbyists throughout the 1960s and 1970s,
two parallel buildings and extensive open-air bench and suiseki’s appeal expanded from the pre-war

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