The Japanese art of Suiseki, unlike its well-known companion Bonsai, remains determinedly dwarfed and yet once beheld, naturally and delightfully embraced and appreciated.
Everyone, at some time or another, has picked up from the beach or river bed a curiously shaped or colored pebble. It may end up on the desk doing duty as a paperweight or regimenting a line of books. It may even find its way to a shelf as an ornament, a conversation piece.
At its simplest, Suiseki is the collection and display of pretty stones; at its most cerebral, a medium to achieve a state of serenity in meditation. Between the two, lies a highly developed art form defined by traditional rules.
It was Chinese Buddhists, long before the time of Christ, who started the practice by mounting on stands carefully chosen stones which, to them, symbolized Buddhism’s holy mountains. A simple and pleasing idea that appealed to all, it drew a lot of enthusiasts and gradually the religious connection was forgotten; stones were sought and collected for their color and shape alone —the more fantastic and grotesque the better.
Wind and water erosion produces infinite variety. Water tumbled shapes are gentle, smooth and rounded, knobbly with the softer hollows and folds worn away. Rocks blasted and polished by sand-laden winds are more dramatic, more angular, harder ridges standing proud of softer material.
So prized became these decorative stones that during the Fifth century BC, a Chinese trade delegation to Japan presented the ruling empress with a selection as a gift.
The gift was well received but with reservations. The Japanese religion at the time was Shintoism, a mixture of ancestor and nature worship. It was thought that any natural object of outstanding beauty, be it a mountain or a tree, was home to spirits. As part of nature the mounted stones represented more than just a lively artform, they had to be taken seriously.
Out went pebbles with a frivolous Shane or gaudy color: with an attendant hut. Displays became more ambitious, stones arranged in a shallow tray together with water and bonsai trees to create elaborate miniature landscapes.
By the 13th century, alongside other seemingly simple pursuits like flower arranging and calligraphy, Suiseki had graduated to high art, almost a ritual, governed by strict aesthetic conventions which still apply today. A Suiseki stone must be larger than a pebble but not too heavy to lift. The material should be hard, not a soft sandstone or volcanic lava. Dark, deep colors are preferred and the proportions of the stone must be in balance.
Customarily the shape should suggest a natural scene but modern collectors tend to “see” just about anything from Sydney Harbor Bridge to the family dog.
Lastly there are the stone’s abstract qualities as perceived by the collector. Traditionally, there are four — but all blend subtly into one another and all signify various shades of serenity, of stillness and quiet. To a tuned-in enthusiast a Suiseki stone radiates calm and tranquility, assisting him to reach an inner peace.
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