Page 51 - BSAM 2018 Q2

from his book. In 2013, Kasahara published Notes on Susieki, in which he described his career as a stone dealer and his interaction with other dealers and leaders in Japanese Suiseki.
Kasahara was one of the few Suiseki dealers who had a in depth knowledge about Suiseki. He read and reread the important books that were published throughout his career. He loved to sit in his shop and discuss aspects of Suiseki with visitors over a cup of tea and Japanese sweets. He was generous in sharing his knowledge of Japanese stone appreciation, and the many stones he sold were offered at reasonable prices. He developed a cadre of loyal customers who could trust Kasahara for honest opinions about stones. He was patience with novice collectors and never took advantage of them; instead, he tried to help them develop their interest in this new-found hobby. During his career, he was a long-time member of the board of directors of the Nippon Suiseki Association (NSA) and even served as chairman of the associa- tion for two years until health-related issue required
him to step down. But his impact on the association was significant. Kobayashi Kunio, current Chairman of the NSA said “Even though he had a short term as chair of the NSA, Mr Kasahara undertook efforts to make NSA a public corporation and he led the way to have the new Japan Suiseki Exhibitions at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.”
Kasahara’s introduction to stone appreciation in Japan coincided with the rapid expansion of the growing interest in Suiseki. Mr Ito Toshiharu estab- lished the Nippon Biseki Club in 1955 and hosted a stone exhibit in a major department store in Tokyo. At this time, there were many polished and colorful stones that were collected and exhibited by enthusi- asts. Building on the success of this event, established bonsai nurserymen and stone connoisseurs Murata Kenji and Yoshimura Eiji asked a friend to negotiate with the Mitsukoshi Department store to host a new exhibit. This was held in June 1961 and was an enormous success due to the promotional activities by the department store. It was a milestone year for
Top; Kasahara purchased and resold many older Suiseki including this Furuya stone with a base carved by the well- known master daiza carver Tanimoto Hyakusui.
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