Page 38 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2016Q4

Top; Many Seta River Tiger
Striped stones, including this
one, have been cleaned and
polished by Sakurai using this
equipment.
Middle; This is a Narai stone
and a fine example of one
of Sakurai manufactured
landscape suiseki using a
variety of tools and a short
hydrochloric acid bath to
darken the color of this stone.
Bottom; An Akadama
mountain-shaped stone
from Sado Island. This is a
completely manufactured
suiseki. Most Akadama
landscape stones have been
altered to improve their
appearance.

We have consistently heard from
Western students of Japanese
suiseki, that Japanese stones are
never treated with oils or waxes
and that they are always natural
and aged with the process of yoseki.
However, we learned several years
ago that some Japanese stones,
especially those coming from
the earth, that the final stage of
cleaning involves the use of a soft
pliant wax from the Ibota beetle.

pneumatic drill. On the middle left is an example of
a stone made in this manner. The entire back portion
and some of the slopes of this stone was shaped using
this method. Once a stone has been cut, altered and
polished, it was often placed in hydrochloric acid for
a few minutes to darken the stone. Buyer’s preferences
for dark or black landscape stones were driving this
process.
Sakurai has been actively practicing yoseki, a Japa-
nese practice of cultivating stones outdoors and by
regularly watering them. Over the course of forty
years he has placed thousands of stones on benches
at his workshop and at his home. The stones are also
exposed to rain and snow. While this is not suitable for
all stones—Furuya, for example, should not be sub-
jected to yoseki practices—many other stones will de-
velop a patina that gives the stone a feeling of oldness,
serenity, or quietness. This is likely a slow oxidation
process. Sakurai uses this process for stones that have
been cut and worked. Many years of this practice will
erase all signs that a stone was cut and worked. This is
never mentioned in books on suiseki in Japan.

36 | BCI | October/November/December 2016