Page 38 - BSAM 2016 Q4
P. 38
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 ne 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 nal stage of cleaning involves the use of a soft pliant wax from the Ibota beetle.
pneumatic drill. On the middle le is an example of a stone made in this manner. e 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 o en 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. e 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. is 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. is is never mentioned in books on suiseki in Japan.
36 | BCI | October/November/December 2016
